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

Credible climate scientists around the world have been telling governments for some time that carbon pollution is contributing to climate change. The government respects the scientific advice. A new peer reviewed report out today from the Climate Commission—and the Prime Minister referred to this report in an earlier answer—summarises the latest science and makes clear that climate change is happening faster than previously thought.

The report's central message is that the next 10 years are critical in our efforts to deal with this significant economic and environmental challenge. The report spells out significant risks to human health, to agriculture, to cities, to infrastructure and to natural heritage from the more severe climate impacts over the longer term. Importantly, so that people can see this clearly, it sets out the evidence pertinent to the warming of the atmosphere, the sea level rises that are being experienced and the risks to icons like the Great Barrier Reef. The report concludes that an economic transformation is needed to achieve the reductions in carbon pollution we need to avoid severe impacts from climate change.

The report and its findings were welcomed today by the shadow minister for climate action, the member for Flinders, who said in a media release: 'There is bipartisan support in Australia in support of the science of climate change, as presented in the report.' The problem for the member for Flinders is that he does not have a policy to deal with the threat that climate change represents. The report's findings make it clear that direct action measures, so-called, which rely almost entirely on tree planting and soil carbon, are not a credible way to tackle climate change.

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