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

I think it is important to remember that the time at which stabilisation will be likely to occur will be well after all of us have gone—we are talking about next century, because there is already so much stock in the atmosphere. So I think that, with respect, this is a bit of a false debate—that might be too strong a way of putting it—or perhaps a misleading debate when we talk about targets whilst we are not acting and Australia’s emissions continue to rise. We know that every year we delay we emit more and we lock in more growth in our emissions. That is the policy reality. To get to 350 parts per million you have to go through 450 parts per million first. Let us be clear: to get to 450 parts per million is an enormous challenge for the world. It will require international action and cooperation on a level that probably humanity has not really achieved to date because it will require everybody to be part of it and it will require us fundamentally to change our economies.

Clearly the scheme does allow us to continue to reduce emissions. Under the provisions of cap setting and gateways we set caps for five years and up to 10 years ahead we will set a range of data—that is, what we call a gateway. We will continue to set caps. Obviously over time if we as an economy and as a nation do far better—and I hope we do; I hope we are much more energy-efficient and much quicker at adapting and changing—then we will have the capacity to go further. But it will take some time.

I think it is wrong to think about us locking in a particular outcome for 2020 or 2025. Those targets will be set after Copenhagen, and we have laid out in the white paper the process by which that will occur. I cannot speak for future governments but I can say that this government, in setting its targets, will consider action around the rest of the world and a whole range of environmental and economic factors.