Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that, Senator Back. Indeed, the first Kyoto reporting period saw Australia meet and exceed its commitment. We are confident that the 2020 target will be met and exceeded by the actions of the Turnbull government and predecessors, and that we can deliver—as we do, as a good citizen—the types of actions that people expect us to. We welcome the fact that the Paris Agreement is coming into force of entry. We welcome the fact that there is strong global cooperation, which Australia is, yet again, a party to, in setting 2030 targets that are amongst the toughest targets in the world on a per capita basis, and amongst the toughest targets in the world in terms of their relativity to the size of our economy. This is actually strong action from Australia which, once again, we will deliver. The 26 to 28 per cent reduction compared to 2005 levels under the Paris Agreement is a target that is comparable with other developed countries and delivers significant reductions in emissions per capita and per dollar of GDP, as I indicated. We have met every single target to date; we are confident we will meet every single target into the future.