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AUSTRALIA 
Climate report warns over small actions
Friday, 4 July, 2008
A draft report on climate change says small changes which don't address the real issues will actually damage the integrity of Australia's market economy.
The warning came on Friday in a report by climate change adviser Professor Ross Garnaut, urging Australia to adopt a broad-based emissions trading scheme.
"The most inappropriate response would be to delude ourselves, taking small actions that create an appearance of action, but which do not solve the problem," Professor Garnaut says.
"Such an approach would risk the integrity of our market economy and political processes to no good effect."
The report says Australia would be deluding itself if it used scientific uncertainties as a cause for delay.
"Delaying now will eliminate attractive lower-cost options," the report says.
"To delay is to deliberately choose to avoid effective steps to reduce the risks of climate change to acceptable levels."
The draft report says an emissions trading scheme should be as broad as possible.
"The more sectors included in the emissions trading scheme, the more efficiently costs will be shared across the economy," the report states.
"The transport sector should be included."
Source: AAP
