Govt announces $200m to stop deforestation in Asia.
[ this is a very clever move --- since forest clearing has a bigger impact on CO2 than all the world's transport emissions .. ]
Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a $200 million plan to help stop deforestation in Asia.
The Government is under pressure from the Opposition and climate change economist Sir Nicholas Stern to do more to tackle global warming.
Mr Turnbull says a global response is needed and the $200 million project will be used to plant trees and reduce illegal logging in South-East Asia.
"The funding will go, given the nature of our geography, will largely go to South-East Asia," Mr Turnbull said.
"The biggest deforesters in the world or the places where the most deforestation of tropical forests is occurring are in Brazil and Indonesia, they're the top two so naturally our focus is going to be on our part of the world but we're not limiting it to that."
But Labor wants the Government to agree to new targets for cutting emissions.
Environment spokesman Peter Garrett says it will not hurt the economy.
"It's clear, crystal clear that the Prime Minister is wrong," Mr Garrett said.
The $200 million will be spent over five years in several countries.
The Greens leader, Bob Brown, says tackling deforestation in South-East Asia is a worthy aim, but the Government is displaying gross double standards.
Senator Brown says the Government should first reduce deforestation at home.
"It's a huge hypocrisy," he said.
"It's just extraordinary that the Howard Government can be putting money into the South-East Asian fire problem while practising the same broad scale logging, burning and atmospheric pollution in southern Australia."
Thursday, March 29, 2007
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