Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

He may have backflipped. A recent report published by the Climate Commission dispels once and for all the myth pushed by those opposite that Australia is acting alone with the carbon price and that our policies will make no difference to greenhouse gas emissions. The commission concluded, and I think this is very important to consider, that every major economy is tackling climate change, including Australia. It finds that 90 countries, representing 90 per cent of the global economy, have committed to reduce their carbon pollution and have policies in place to achieve those reductions. Many of these countries are relying on market-based mechanisms such as Australia's. The commission's report concluded that a carbon price is the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions and is more efficient than other direct subsidy policies. That is why next year 1.1 billion people will be living in a country, state or city with an emissions trading scheme in place. They include countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland. Carbon trading is also operating at the subnational level in the United States, Canada and Brazil. Of course, the momentum is growing. Japan just introduced a carbon tax last month. California commenced its emissions trading schemes last week. China is developing pilot emissions trading schemes in seven cities and provinces and in Korea an emissions trading scheme will commence in 2015. If you look all across the OECD, 94 per cent of members have, or are implementing, emissions trading at the national or sub-national level. That is the commitment that is happening on the ground as we speak.