Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Wong. Given that the European Union policy responses to climate change are underpinned by their agreement that a global temperature rise of more than two degrees Celsius above the 1750 pre-industrial level will cause dangerous climate change and pose an unacceptable risk to this and future generations, has the Rudd government decided what degree of global warming poses an unacceptable risk to this nation and to the planet? If so, what is it? If not, has it asked Professor Garnaut to provide a specific answer to that question?

Following on from that, will the government move immediately to reduce emissions by ending the Howard government’s tariff arrangements that favour imported four-wheel drive vehicles and hummers by giving them half the tax rate for imports that applies to climate sensitive and energy-saving hybrid cars?

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

I thank Senator Brown for the question and for the interest that he shows on the issue of climate change. It is an interest that unfortunately those opposite whilst in government seemed not to have shown for far too long. We will look back on the history of the Howard government as a time when we as a nation could have dealt with the issue of climate change but failed to do so.

In relation to the specific issues raised by the honourable senator, firstly there was the issue of what degree of global warming is unacceptable. I will indicate our position on this very clearly. Unlike those opposite, we do not quibble with the science in this area. We recognise that scientists around the world have been warning governments of various political persuasions about the need to put in place policies and measures to tackle climate change. That is why we went to the election with a policy to tackle climate change. But we will do so, Senator Brown, methodically and responsibly. We went to the election with a commitment to put in place an emissions trading scheme, and I have already outlined on another occasion the parameters that we propose for the design of that scheme.

On the issue of medium-term targets, which is really at the heart of the first part of Senator Brown’s question, as I indicated in Bali and have subsequently indicated on a number of occasions, this government will not set a medium-term target until we have fully and carefully considered—

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. My question was not about medium-term targets; it was about a temperature level rise for the planet which would pose a danger to this and future generations. It is a question specifically on temperature rise. Two degrees is what the European Union and scientists say is unacceptable. Does the government accept that or has it got in train—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What is your point of order, Senator Brown?

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am just helping the minister to ensure she answers the question.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She does not need any help. There is no point of order. The minister may answer the original question in the manner she chooses, provided she is being relevant—and I believe she was being relevant.

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

I am happy to respond directly to that point of order. As I hope Senator Brown would be aware, the European Union discussion is in fact the justification for their mid-term target proposal. That is the basis upon which they arrived at the mid-term target proposal. Clearly, there are a range of projections on how our current climate change parameters could affect future temperature rise. The IPCC report, which I assume Senator Brown is aware of, sets out a range of projections, and they are the result of the best efforts of scientists around the world to estimate the possible impact of current emissions levels and different trajectories of emissions on future temperature rise.

Let us be clear: this government absolutely recognises the need to tackle dangerous climate change. All in this chamber know that this was a significant issue at the last election. I would hope, notwithstanding the differences between the government and Senator Brown on a range of issues, he would at least acknowledge that the very first act of the Rudd Labor government was the ratification of the Kyoto protocol, something those opposite failed to do despite being party to the agreement and quibbling for years and years about whether they should ratify.

So our commitment to tackling this global challenge is clear. We recognise that it is a global challenge; it must be tackled globally. Domestically we will implement our policy agenda, but I will make it very clear to Senator Brown that we will do so responsibly, carefully and methodically and on the basis of inputs such as Treasury modelling and Professor Garnaut’s report.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Mr President, you will have heard that the minister totally failed to answer my question about two degrees being the unacceptable level of climate change and then about the tax impost put onto hybrid cars as against humvees and four-wheel drives. Today the City of London has imposed a $53 tax on all heavily polluting vehicles in central London in a bid to halt the slide to catastrophic climate change. I ask: will the Australian government set a lead here by reviewing the list of cars available to members of parliament so that gas guzzlers are taken off that list and by reformulating the priorities so that new government fleet cars include only hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles?

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

Three issues were raised there. Firstly, on the two-degree temperature rise issue, I would have thought that Senator Brown would understand that the usual way in which these issues are discussed, certainly in the context of international agreements, is in terms of the emissions reductions targets which nations agree to. This government have already committed to a 60 per cent reduction on 2000 levels by 2050 and, as I have repeatedly said, we will set a mid-term target; but we will do so after receiving the appropriate evidence. On the taxation issue to do with cars, I should refer Senator Brown to the responsible minister, which I assume might be Senator Carr or possibly the Treasurer. On the third issue, I refer Senator Brown to the policy with which we went to the election—which was to leverage investment in a green car industry here in Australia.