Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Milne’s motion refers to the Cancun, Mexico, meeting in a couple of weeks time. I suspect the results will be very similar to those of Copenhagen; I do not expect great results. We will go through the motions and in the end it will be the same. There are certain realities that you have to face in this life. I am not an extremist. I do not know whether or not climate change exists. There are many views, and many different scientists say different things. Some very eminent people have said that the way to beat climate change is by developing processes that are not going to cost the world, that are not going to ruin businesses.

According to Senator Milne, an equitable contribution from Australia would be to reduce our emissions per capita from 27 tonnes a year to four tonnes a year by 2020. I did a little calculation—that means we will have to reduce our emissions over the next 10 years to one-fifth of their current level—that is a 500 per cent reduction. Senator Milne, do you understand what you are asking?