Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

It is the case that the government has indicated different levels of targets depending on what type of agreement or the scope and ambition of agreement is achieved at Copenhagen. That is the responsible thing to do because, of course, the capacity for any single nation to reduce its emissions is affected by the extent to which other nations also take on targets. The Treasury modelling that the government undertook demonstrated that that is the case. Effectively working together we can reduce emissions more quickly than if there is not an effective international agreement, which is one of the reasons why the government makes a significant priority of engagement through these international processes. A number of the issues of definition that the good senator refers to are, in fact, the very issues which are the subject of negotiation. Issues such as restraining of emissions in the context of developing economies is one of the difficult and complex issues, which is at the heart of the international negotiations.

Senator Milne is somebody who has a close awareness of the range of publications on this matter and she will know, for example, that there are different trajectories under IPCC scenarios which look at deviation from business as usual. These are matters which are at the core of the negotiations. The fact is the government realises very clearly that developed countries need not only to commit to reduce their emissions in accordance with their existing obligations under the convention but to reduce emissions. We also have to have action from developing economies and the delinking of economic growth and emissions growth. (Time expired)