Greens call for 80pc emissions cut

[ are these guys for real ?! ]

energy

The Greens have announced they want Australia to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by the middle of the century.
Greens Senator Christine Milne wants Australia to cut emissions by 30 per cent by 2020, then by 80 percent by 2050.
"We have to act now," she said. "Whatever it costs us now, it's going to be considerably less than what we're going to have to pay later."
Senator Milne says it is foolish not to act and there are also economic bonuses.
"We're driven by a time frame and a moral responsibility to actually stabilise greenhouse gases as much as we can," she said.
"That's why they're deep cuts."
But Prime Minister John Howard says people setting targets must understand the consequences, describing it as the biggest economic decision of the next decade.
The Australian Industry Group's Heather Ridout says he is right.
"We have an awful lot to lose if we make silly decisions and hasty decisions," she said.
Ms Ridout says the nation needs to strike the right balance between taking action on climate change and not jeopardising the national interest.
"We have no doubt that we need to make progress on climate change but we shouldn't be Pollyana-ish and just choosing a target from an external source which has nothing to do with the fact," she said.
Mr Howard says the Government will take industry and jobs into account and consider other countries' actions when it sets a target.
But Senator Milne says places like California have made economic opportunities out of cutting carbon and Australia has no choice but to make big changes.
"It's really foolish to stay with a head in the sand saying, we're not going to change because if one thing the Murray-Darling has taught us, it's that the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment," she said.
"Once the environment collapses, you just have no economic return."
The Federal Opposition aims to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.
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