5 January 2006The AustrailanLeigh Dayton
Confirmation that last year was Australia's hottest on record proves the country is in the grip of global warming, but signing up for the Kyoto agreement is not the answer, Environment Minister Ian Campbell has said."The science is clearly overwhelming," he said yesterday. "All the evidence points toward warming."
But Senator Campbell said the Kyoto agreement, under which 35 industrial nations will by 2012 reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to below 1990 levels, would be ineffective.
"Signing Kyoto is like catching the 3pm train from (Sydney's) Central Station when it's five o'clock," he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology yesterday released final results of its 2005 climate survey, showing the annual mean temperature was 1.09C higher than that between 1961 and 1990, the benchmark for climate change measurements.
According to the report, national temperatures have increased by about 0.9C since 1910, when reliable record-keeping began. That is consistent with global warming trends that saw a rise of up to 0.7C in the 20th century.
In the face of criticism of Australia's refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol, Senator Campbell said steps such as next week's meeting in Sydney of the five-nation Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate would help shape a pathway to lower emissions for developing and developed nations.
The partnership, involving Australia, the US, India, China and South Korea, hopes to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by focusing on developing new technologies. But Labor's environment spokesman, Anthony Albanese, disagreed with Senator Campbell. "We need a little less conversation and a lot more action," he said.
Clive Hamilton, executive director of the Australia Institute, said: "Clearly, the short-term profits of the fossil fuel companies count for more in Canberra than the long-term health and welfare of ordinary Australians."
