Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for his question. At the last election the Prime Minister made it clear that the government was determined to build consensus to support an important economic reform—that is, to introduce a carbon price into our economy. To achieve that aim, the government has taken a number of steps. The first one has been to establish the multiparty climate change committee. That comprises representatives of the government, the Greens, and the members for Lyne and New England. That committee is advised by four independent experts, and I have referred in my earlier answer in question time to the role of Mr Rod Sims. At the last meeting the committee released a number of papers covering areas such as the science of climate change, the action being taken in a number of other countries around carbon pricing and information on energy markets and electricity prices.

I am sure the House will be interested to know that in Professor Will Steffen’s presentation to the committee, advising the committee on climate science, Professor Steffen reported that there is now 100 per cent certainty that the earth is warming and 95 per cent certainty that human-induced emissions are the main cause of the warming observed over the last century.

See this speech in context