Rudd's climate failure on global show

Prime Minister Rudd's failure-in-waiting approach to climate change will be on global show this week, according to the Australian Greens.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said Mr Rudd's 5% target fails the Bali Road Map target of 25-40% reductions in greenhouse gases over 1990 levels by 2020.

"Mr Rudd is handing over $16 billion to old polluters to help them keep polluting, while failing to invest near enough in fostering green alternatives" Senator Brown said.

"He talks about saving the Great Barrier Reef and Murray Darling while locking in targets that will destroy them.

"His actions are undermining any chance of reaching a Bali Road Map level of consensus for the world, let alone a more ambitious one."

Mr Rudd's stated global goals of 450 ppm global concentrations of greenhouse gases and 2C warming are mutually inconsistent - even the out-of-date IPCC projections concluded that 450 ppm gave us a 50-90% chance of breaching 2C. Neither will be achieved by the CPRS targets.

"There is no way Mr Rudd's target for Australia can play a reasonable and equitable role in meeting either a 450 ppm or 2C goal.

"Chinese negotiators have slammed Mr Rudd's 5-25% targets, calling for the kind of action Scotland, Germany and the UK are offering, with 2020 targets of 42%, 40% and 34% on 1990 levels respectively.

"The CPRS should be upgraded to the Greens', and Bali Road Map, targets."

Further information: Russell Kelly 0438 376 082