Speech to The Future Summit 2007

15 May, 2007

Climate Change: Australia's International Strategy

The Honourable Dr Charles Murigande, the Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation, and distinguished guests. Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today I want to talk to you about the Government's climate change diplomacy.

Climate change is a serious global challenge. Temperature increases, which many scientists attribute to human activity, are likely to bring widespread and unpredictable changes around the world.

While the pace and exact nature of changes is uncertain, it is clear that some impacts are becoming evident. And the most recent scientific consensus - including the work of the IPCC - suggests they are coming faster in some cases than had earlier been predicted.

Australia is vulnerable to climate change. We occupy the driest inhabited continent with a highly variable climate and great susceptibility to drought.

Water security is the most obvious challenge we have to deal with, and which we expect to be exacerbated by climate change as parts of Australia are expected to become hotter and drier.

Let me start with some key facts. Between 1970 and 2004, global greenhouse gas emissions increased 70 per cent, from about 29 to 49 billion tonnes. Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere have increased from a pre-industrial level of about 280 to 379 parts per million in 2005.

Most emissions come from burning fossil fuels - coal, oil, natural gas - to produce energy. That means producing electricity, heating, powering industry and fuel for transport.

In fact, the largest growth in greenhouse gas emissions between 1970 and 2004 - 145 per cent - came from the energy supply sector. The second largest source of global emissions caused by humans is from land-use such as land clearing, deforestation and forest fires.

But mankind can not simply give up energy. We know that global growth has been fuelled by reliable and abundant supplies of energy. Global growth has delivered higher living standards and has lifted many millions of people out of poverty. And natural resources from countries like Australia are an important part of global growth.

There are two key ways of dealing with the impacts of climate change in Australia and elsewhere. First is to work to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases, and eventually to halt and then reverse global emissions. Second is to prepare for and adapt to changes as best we can, throughout our economies and societies. There are no glib answers.

But with concerted global action, we could do much to reduce potential threats to human well-being and security.

For such a serious issue, I am constantly amazed at the inaccurate simplifications often heard in the general debate on climate change. They are features of a debate that has not yet matured into a rational discussion of ways to tackle the critical challenges posed by climate change.

It is a debate where poses and gestures are frequently used as a substitute for real action. Setting targets or ratifying treaties is ranked above real, practical steps to reduce emissions. Perhaps to its cost, the Australian Government has stuck firmly to practical steps to address the issue, rather than adopt a vanity pose.
It is also a debate where the usual rules of objective analysis are routinely ignored. Alarmist claims go unchallenged, unfounded exaggerations are treated as conventional wisdom. Hyperbole is the norm, not the exception.

In this environment, radical emissions reductions targets are set out before the economic and social impact is assessed. Rational discussion of practical mitigation and adaptation options sometimes appears a secondary feature of the debate.

It is a debate which imputes a hierarchy of motives. Those arguing for radical action, irrespective of the economic and social consequences or the effectiveness of such action, paint themselves as authentic defenders of the planet. Those arguing for a sensible exploration of clean development strategies are painted as environmental vandals.

It is a coarse distortion of reality to suggest that some nations are approaching the climate change discussion motivated only by altruism, while others are driven solely by economic imperatives. The moral playing field needs to be levelled for a rational debate. We will not solve the climate change challenge as a moral crusade.

Another feature of this debate is that something that happened the day before yesterday is overlooked or considered irrelevant. For example, some speak of the need to start taking early action. It would indeed be alarming if we were just thinking of starting to take action, but it is just not true.

We have been taking action in Australia for over 15 years. Australia set up the world's first dedicated office for greenhouse gas management - the Australian Greenhouse Office.

We set the world's first renewable energy target, despite media reports this idea was only invented 'yesterday'.

We are leading the world on the development of clean coal technologies and carbon capture and storage, and led efforts to establish the international legal framework to allow for the storage of carbon dioxide under the seabed - a crucial step on promoting the widespread uptake of this important technology.

We look forward to receiving the report of the Prime Minister's Task Group on Emissions Trading.

And of course, we have already announced or implemented many domestic policies.

To adapt to the impact of climate change the Government has developed a $10 billion National Plan for Water Security, established a $128 million National Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, and committed $43.6 million to a new CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship.

To bring on the technologies that will make large cuts feasible, the Government has implemented the $500 million Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund, which has already leveraged over $3 billion in private sector investment and supported significant projects, including the world's largest carbon capture and storage project.

The Government has allocated more than $700 million to promote renewable energy, including nearly $18 million under the Advanced Electricity Storage Technologies programme to trial more efficient ways of storing electricity from renewable power sources - a matter that is crucial to bigger uptake of renewable energy.

And as announced in last week's Budget, individual Australians can do their bit by accessing a Government rebate of up to $8000 to install renewable solar energy in their homes.

We are committed to improving energy efficiency across the board. We led the world in announcing the phase out of inefficient incandescent light bulbs.

The Energy Efficiencies Opportunities Act requires large energy using companies to carefully analyse and report on their options to improve energy efficiency. We have introduced energy efficiency requirements for all new buildings and recently enhanced the requirements for residential buildings to a 5-star level in the Building Code of Australia.

And as the Prime Minister recently announced, we will be pursuing a new strategy for the future development of uranium mining and nuclear power in Australia. Such policies are all highlighted in the recently released IPCC report as key climate change mitigation options.

As a result of these and other policies and measures, Australia is tracking well to meet the target it agreed to at Kyoto.

This is a remarkable achievement given that our economy is set to grow by 90 per cent and our population by a third over the period measured by Kyoto (1990-2012).

The fact that Australia has an economy and population growing faster than the OECD average is one of the key reasons why we can not accept targets off the shelf set by other slower growing, post industrial economies.

The faster the economy is growing, the harder it is to meet any given reduction target. The Prime Minister was absolutely right to say that setting a long-term emission reduction target will be the most important economic decision Australia takes in the next decade.

But whatever Australia may do domestically, we can not turn a dial and alter the global climate. The global aspect is the very essence of the climate change challenge. So what we do domestically is important, but what we can do to help build a truly global response is critical.

Australia is working hard for more effective international action on climate change. There are so many aspects to climate change, due to the fact that emissions come from almost all our economic activities, that it can be difficult to keep the big picture in mind.

What I want to do today is set out the five essential pillars of our international strategy.
The first pillar is the global efforts in the UN.

Australia wants effective global action. We want a new global agreement that can forge a truly comprehensive response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An agreement that is actually environmentally effective and economically fair.

The Kyoto Protocol is definitely not it. Kyoto is a flawed framework. It does not cover the fastest growing sources of emissions in the large developing countries and has not attracted the support of the world's largest emitter. In fact it covers barely a third of global emissions. And this is only going to decrease as developing countries grow.

This is why, under the first Kyoto commitment period, emissions are set to rise an alarming 41 per cent.

As the rapidly industrialising countries have made clear, they will not accept short-term Kyoto-style emission limits. The Kyoto Protocol model will not succeed in reducing the growth of global emissions.

Endorsing a fatally flawed framework is not only ineffective, it could also slow down the quest for a truly global and therefore effective solution.
We need a new approach that encourages practical action in line with sustainable development objectives.

A new approach that better recognises the differing national circumstances of different parts of the world.

A new approach that does not create false book-keeping tricks to meet politically-derived targets, but one that encourages real action.

Australia therefore calls for new negotiations for a truly global agreement to be launched at this year's meeting of parties to the UN Framework Convention in Bali in December.

The second pillar is the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.

Australia is a founder and major contributor to the Partnership. The six Partners - Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and the United States - represent over half the world's economy and population.

This group of countries is key to the international fight against climate change. And the AP6 is making terrific progress since its founding here last January.

Some people seem to only now be discovering the centrality of energy efficiency, low-emission technology and the importance of working co-operatively with China, India and others.

But the Prime Minister and I, together with the Minister for Industry and the Minister for the Environment and counterpart Ministers from our 5 partner countries, spent early January last year convening the high-level ministerial meeting to kick off the very substantial undertaking of the AP6.

The AP6 is an unprecedented effort to get at the core of the problem by bringing together the front-line people in industry and government to seek out the best ways of making improvements in everything from energy efficiency in buildings, to power generation, to aluminium, steel and cement manufacture.

There are already over 90 AP6 projects working on sharing best practices and technologies, and joining forces in further research and demonstration in crucial areas such as clean coal technologies and renewable energies.

Among the projects supported by the Australian Government is Solar System's 'mega-scale' solar power concentrator in Victoria. This world leading technology will see a 154MW solar power station connected to the national electricity grid. Through AP6 we will share the knowledge and help spur deployment where appropriate.

Crucially the private sector has an equal stake in driving the success of the AP6. I am convinced that this sectoral model where we assist each other in taking action to make our economic development cleaner, more efficient, in line with our national priorities, will be the key to future international
co-operation.

I expect that the Partner Governments and their private sectors will continue the momentum of this new model when they meet at Ministerial level later this year in India.

The third pillar is APEC.

We have put climate change in the centre of the Leaders' agenda as a core economic issue for APEC. The Prime Minister has written to all Leaders in the Asia-Pacific to set clean development and climate change as the focus for this year's APEC Leader's meeting in September in Sydney.

The Sydney Summit will arguably be the most important international gathering of Leaders to discuss climate change since the 1992 Rio Conference. It is a tangible demonstration of Australia's willingness to lead on climate change and to speak boldly about what needs to be done.

APEC accounts for 60 per cent of the world's energy demand, and across the group demand is expected to double by 2030.

With world leaders like US President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao at the APEC leaders meeting, the Prime Minister's decision to put this critical issue front and centre on the agenda highlights our view that climate change needs to be dealt with as a core economic issue.

Fourth, we are driving a new agenda through our recently announced Global Initiative on Forests and Climate.

Few people realise that deforestation in the developing world produces around 20 per cent of global emissions. Indonesia's emissions, for example, are over six times that of Australia's largely due to the rapid deforestation that is taking place there.

If we were to halve the global rate of deforestation we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by three billion tonnes a year - that is the equivalent to more than five times Australia's total annual emissions and about ten times the emissions reductions that will be achieved during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

On average, during each year between 2000 and 2005, about 13 million hectares was cleared. This rate of clearing is equivalent to losing an average of more than 71 000 football ovals of forest every day. In just the past hour, forests covering the area of 3,000 football ovals have been lost.

Through the Global Initiative, Australia is working with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Germany and the United States, among others to reduce deforestation and to promote reforestation and better forestry practices in developing countries. Australia has pledged $200 million as part of this Initiative.

Finally, we are working directly with key countries on the issues that will make the big differences.

China is critical here. A consequence of China's fantastic growth is that it will soon overtake the US as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Unlike others, we did not recognise the importance of China only yesterday.

We have had a strategic bilateral climate change partnership in place since 2003. And this practical focus with China has taken another vital step with the decision by Prime Minister Howard and Premier Wen Jiabao to establish the Australia-China Joint Coordination Group on Clean Coal Technology.

Given that Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal and China is the world's largest consumer, we have a lot to offer the world by working together to develop clean coal technology.

Australia is also a founding member in strategic international partnerships that cover carbon capture and storage, methane capture, hydrogen development and renewable energy development.

As part of our key involvement in these partnerships, we hosted the second ministerial level meeting of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum in Melbourne in 2004.

We are widely acknowledged as leading in many fields of clean coal technology and in developing the required regulatory frameworks to encourage the development and uptake of these crucial technologies.

Make no mistake: if we do not find good solutions which allow for the ongoing use of coal while avoiding the release of the CO2 into the atmosphere, particularly in China, we do not have a solution to managing global emissions and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.

It is also important to realise, as many Australian researchers have, that as soon as you deny yourself access to one source of technology then the cost of the overall task becomes that much higher.

Those advocating high reduction targets, but refusing to countenance the one source of reliable emission-free base load power are of course making the task almost impossible.

Australia will make a very strategic contribution to global emissions management by providing uranium for the nuclear energy in countries like China, as well as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which generates nearly 50 per cent less emissions than coal.

The Prime Minister recently announced Australia is seeking to work with key countries in developing the next generation of nuclear power through the Generation IV International Forum.

Together with leading nuclear technology nations in the forum, Australia plans to work towards new and better solutions to future energy and environment challenges while allowing continued economic development and growth throughout the world.

The Government has also decided that climate change and the environment will be a major focus of Australia's aid programme in the years to come.

In addition to the Global Initiative on Forests and Climate, the Government will also devote $32.5 million (2007-2008) to climate change related global health initiatives.

This money will support joint projects with the World Bank and Asia Development Bank and other international organisations in climate change adaptation and mitigation in Asia. It will target action on freshwater catchment areas and be used to promote energy efficiency and alternative energy sources.

It is no secret that finding a global solution to climate change will be very difficult.

It is also true that the scale of the climate change challenge demands that we work as hard as we can, on all possible fronts.

That is why we are pursuing a multi-pillar diplomatic and negotiating strategy.

It is a sensible, practical and comprehensive approach to a formidable challenge. I commend it you.

Thank you for your attention.