Global warming, government snoring

I've always wanted beachfront property...

PM still won't sign Kyoto Protocol

October 27, 2005 - 5:14PM

Prime Minister John Howard is standing firm against signing the Kyoto Protocol despite growing calls for his government to take more action to counter greenhouse gas emission.

At the same time Environment Minister Ian Campbell acknowledged that the debate on climate change is now over, it is real and represents a very serious threat to Australia.

He urged Australians to accept that humans contributed to global warming and should adapt their behaviour to save the planet, calling for a massive injection of new technology, including wind, solar, nuclear power and clean coal.

Former NSW Labor premier Bob Carr, appointed to a key position with a newly-created lobby group, the Climate Institute, has also called on the government to sign the Kyoto agreement.

"The fundamental challenge is to sign Kyoto and to make us a world leader and not a craven follower of the Bush administration on international climate policy," Mr Carr said.

But Mr Howard said the government would be selling out the interests of Australian industry and jobs if it signed the climate change protocol in its current form.

Australia and the United States are the only developed nations to have refused to sign Kyoto.

"The Kyoto Protocol is anti-Australian jobs, particularly in the resource sector, because it imposes burdens on Australian industry and it doesn't impose on like industries in Indonesia and China," he said.

That's a lie, China and Indonesia, being signatories, are subject to the same restrictions as everyone else Australia on the other hand will be locked out of a potentially lucative carbon credit market and emission control technology market. Why are our industries so lazy and slothful that they can't adapt to life under Kyoto like industry in practically every other country on earth?

"I'm amazed that a former Labor premier should advocate that we should sign up to something that would export the jobs of Australian workers."

Senator Campbell said the government had been a world leader on addressing climate change for several years and the Kyoto Protocol was ineffectual.

"Anyone who's looked closely at the problem, as I have, knows very well that Kyoto won't solve the problem," he said.

Yes, sitting around ignoring the problem while making back room deals with your resource industry mates will.