Sydney - Australia has reneged on its promise to set a 2020 emissions reduction target before the start of United Nations climate change talks Monday in Poznan, Poland. "This is a complete shemozzle from the Government," Greens leader Bob Brown said Monday. "Here's Australia, which was the big sensation at Bali, going to be the big cop-out at Poznan. It's all happened in 12 months. It's quite astonishing."
A year ago, Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol on reducing the greenhouse gases that cause global warming and promised a 60-per-cent cut by 2050.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong confirmed that the year-old Labor government had broken its word.
"It's the case that we said we would release the targets in December, and we had indicated before Poznan," she said.
Earlier this year, Ross Garnaut, the government's top climate change adviser, recommended Canberra set itself a 10-per-cent reduction target for 2020.
He warned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that it would be economic suicide to adopt ambitious targets that were not shared by other big emitters.
Some within the government want the 2020 target set at a maximum 15-per-cent reduction on 2000 levels. European Union countries want cuts of 25 to 40 per cent, arguing that unless rich countries take the lead, big developing country emitters like India, China and Brazil will not adopt any targets.
The Australian Conservation Foundation's Tony Mohr, responding to the Garnaut Report, said that developed countries like Australia need to set targets for a 25-per-cent reduction by 2020.
"That's achievable and a feasible option for Australia as well," Mohr said. "That's our fair share of the global emission reduction, and it's the least we can do."
He put the contrary argument to Garnaut, saying that if Australia showed an example, others would follow.
Rudd has not committed to accepting Garnaut's recommendations, saying that his view was among that of many and would not determine the government's stance.
