14 October 2005The Courier-Mail
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has sent his chief scientific adviser to Australia to convince the Federal Government to sign up to the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.Sir David King said he had met several cabinet ministers in Canberra to urge them to reconsider Australia's opposition to Kyoto.
He said he was pleased to discover that not all cabinet ministers appear to support Australia's decision not to sign the protocol.
"I am confident after my discussions with ministers that there is not a single view expressed in the Australian cabinet and that in itself, is of course, interesting," he said.
"The British government would like to see Australia and the United States move with us in terms of Kyoto."
Australia and the US are the only developed countries to have refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol, which calls on countries to cut greenhouse emissions by 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.
In July, the two countries unveiled a new greenhouse gas pact between six countries, including Japan, China, India and South Korea.
The Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate also commits the countries to develop and share clean technology.
Sir David said the pact was a welcome step but it failed to set any greenhouse gas reduction targets which would encourage private companies to work with governments to reduce global warming.
He also downplayed the Federal Government's claims that signing up to the Kyoto protocol would damage Australia's economy.
"I do believe investment in alternative sources (of energy) is likely to boost economies," he said.
Sir David also stood by his long held belief that global warming poses a greater threat to the world than terrorism.
However he said it was often easier to focus public attention on terrorism than longer-term issues such as climate change.
