Report slams Australia's attitude to climate change - National - theage.com.au

AUSTRALIA is the least prepared of any developed country to deal with global warming, a new report has claimed.
Released last night, the report by Sydney-based The Climate Institute says while other countries, the USA in particular, have made steps to tackle climate change issues, Australia is lagging behind.
"While the world moves forward on climate change with determination, ingenuity and positive action, Australia is, at best, hesitant, at worst, recalcitrant," the report says.
The report, Top Ten Tipping Points on Climate Change, says improved knowledge of the causes and consequences of climate change, increased media focus on the issue, improved international policy, and global concern over oil supplies and prices, have led to significant steps being taken towards reducing greenhouse emissions.
Coupled with a fundamental shift in the position of America towards climate change — seven US states and 227 cities have committed to greenhouse gas emission targets — the international attitude to global warming has changed considerably, according to the report. But despite several greenhouse programs, Australia has no policy to reduce emission levels. By 2020, Australian greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be 22 per cent above 1990 levels.
Nor have Australian governments or businesses bought into the burgeoning carbon-trading market, which is predicted to grow four-fold this year to $40 billion.
"Australian businesses are laggards compared to their counterparts in Europe, Japan and North America. The sheer size of the new carbon-constrained markets — which includes China — is ignored at Australia's economic peril," the report says.
And Australia's usually-close ties with the US are weakening over climate change.
"As the US moves forward on climate, it leaves Australia politically and economically isolated as the least-prepared developed country in the world on this issue."
The Climate Institute chief executive, Corin Millais, said in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, governments and businesses around the world have started to address climate change.
"People have stopped moaning about climate change and started to find an upside, and that whole economic trend to find ways to make money out of addressing climate change is very powerful," he said.
But Mr Millais said the Australian Government's preoccupation with far-distant technologies such as nuclear energy and geosequestration — burying carbon underground — would not address climate issues soon enough.
Last month, Prime Minister John Howard announced a hand-picked inquiry, headed by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski, would investigate the feasibility of nuclear power in Australia.
"If you had a hundred dollars to spend on climate change, you wouldn't spend a cent on nuclear energy. You'd have to wait at least 15 years before you'd even consider nuclear, because it is just too remote and too expensive," Mr Millais said.
FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGEThe top 10 "tipping points" that the Climate Institute says are influencing the fight against climate change are:
1. ScienceSOURCE: THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE
2. The United States
3. Business
4. Media
5. Energy security and oil prices
6. International policy
7. Carbon profits
8. Clean energy
9. Pop culture
10. Moral issue