Acting on climate change is in Australia’s national interest

Meanwhile, a small charge on global shipping emissions, supported by Germany, France and South Africa, is the other idea making waves on the journey to Durban. A report by the World Bank and the IMF proposes a charge of US$25 per ton of emissions. This could raise US$26 billion per year, of which US$13 billion could be used to tackle climate change. A charge on shipping emissions would also reduce emissions from the industry by 5-10 per cent per year.

Another important step is keeping the Kyoto Protocol alive. As the only legally binding agreement that commits rich countries to reduce emissions, Kyoto is the bedrock of international efforts to tackle climate change. Australia needs to support an extension of Kyoto as a stepping-stone towards a fair, ambitious and binding global climate agreement.

Any agreement must ensure poor countries avoid the worst impacts of climate change. As the recent International Energy Authority report highlights, the world is currently slipping off the path to meet the below two degree target set in Copenhagen two years ago. This means wealthy developed countries must take action to reduce carbon emissions to levels that are based on the science. Australia is planning on cutting emissions by at least five per cent by 2020 on 2000 levels. The IPCC recommends developed countries reduce emissions by between 25 per cent and 40 per cent by 2020 on 1990 levels.

The IPCC also warns that sectors that are closely linked to the climate and Australia’s prosperity, like water, agriculture, tourism, health and food security, will be severely affected. Acting on climate change is in our national interest. It will also ensure that Reverend Tafue and the people of Tuvalu can avoid the worst impacts of climate change.