Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for her answer but note that she failed to indicate to the Senate that by choosing only the MAGICC model the government chose a path that would allow Australia and the world to emit up to 30 per cent more greenhouse gases in order to meet the same climate outcome than would have been the case had other models been chosen. I ask the minister: if a more pessimistic model such as the Hadley model proves to be a more accurate reflection of reality, could the government’s choice of model contribute to tipping points in the climate being triggered and, if so, why did the government choose only one relatively optimistic model when it would have been more sensible and risk averse to base action on the more pessimistic models?