Calls for Australia to follow America, China climate deal
15 Nov 2014 5:16 AM IST
Australia was under pressure on Thursday to follow the United States and China and ramp up efforts to combat climate change, as it prepared to host world leaders at the G20 summit.
The surprise deal between the world’s two biggest polluters to curb greenhouse gas emissions was announced in Beijing on Wednesday, in a move hailed as a potential breakthrough in the long fight for a global pact.
In making the announcement, US President Barack Obama described climate change as an urgent global challenge.
‘In addition, by making this announcement on Thursday, together, we hope to encourage all major economies to be ambitious -- all countries, developing and developed -- to work across some of the old divides so we can conclude a strong global climate agreement next year,’ he said.
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott welcomed the deal but said his preoccupation in hosting the G20 in Brisbane at the weekend was on the economy, and creating growth and jobs.
‘We’ve just had the APEC conference in Beijing and climate change was hardly mentioned,’ Abbott told reporters in Myanmar for the East Asia Summit.
‘It was mentioned in passing by one leader in Beijing and look, there are lots of venues to deal with climate change.’
But his attitude was criticised by environmentalists with one saying the US-China deal highlighted ‘the ludicrous inadequacy’ of Australia’s policies, which have seen the scrapping of a carbon tax designed to combat climate change and of a mining tax on coal profits.
Australia is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by five percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and has announced Aus$2.55 billion ($2.22 billion) Emissions Reduction Fund to give polluters financial incentives to reduce emissions.
The surprise deal between the world’s two biggest polluters to curb greenhouse gas emissions was announced in Beijing on Wednesday, in a move hailed as a potential breakthrough in the long fight for a global pact.
In making the announcement, US President Barack Obama described climate change as an urgent global challenge.
‘In addition, by making this announcement on Thursday, together, we hope to encourage all major economies to be ambitious -- all countries, developing and developed -- to work across some of the old divides so we can conclude a strong global climate agreement next year,’ he said.
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott welcomed the deal but said his preoccupation in hosting the G20 in Brisbane at the weekend was on the economy, and creating growth and jobs.
‘We’ve just had the APEC conference in Beijing and climate change was hardly mentioned,’ Abbott told reporters in Myanmar for the East Asia Summit.
‘It was mentioned in passing by one leader in Beijing and look, there are lots of venues to deal with climate change.’
But his attitude was criticised by environmentalists with one saying the US-China deal highlighted ‘the ludicrous inadequacy’ of Australia’s policies, which have seen the scrapping of a carbon tax designed to combat climate change and of a mining tax on coal profits.
Australia is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by five percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and has announced Aus$2.55 billion ($2.22 billion) Emissions Reduction Fund to give polluters financial incentives to reduce emissions.
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