The wrong numbers throughout the Government's emissions trading phone book have been underlined overnight by news from the Copenhagen Climate Congress, the Australian Greens said today.

The numbers in Government's bill are internally inconsistent, but they are also totally out of step with the latest science. The legislation's repeated reference to global targets of 450 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere is inconsistent with the 5-15% targets enshrined the objects of the bill. If followed globally, those targets would lead to closer to 650 ppm.

Speaking at the emergency scientific conference in Copenhagen overnight, NASA's James Hansen, widely regarded as the godfather of climate science, has set out his evidence that the world needs to bring CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere back below 350 ppm in order to avoid climate catastrophe

"If it is to have any integrity on climate change, the Rudd Government must urgently stop ignoring the latest climate science," said Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne.

"I hope that Minister Wong and her Government take the opportunity of the Senate Inquiry established yesterday to hear the clear evidence from recent science that its targets effectively give up on preventing climate catastrophe.

"A scientist of Hansen's stature cannot be ignored. I have already invited him to give evidence to our Senate Inquiry and hope to receive at least a written submission from him.

"If Australia is to play any kind of role as a reasonable global citizen, we must start working on the transformation to a net zero emissions economy. Seeking to free-ride on the efforts of more responsible nations may seem cheap in the short term, but in the longer term, failure to respond to the urgent need to restructure our economy will cost us dearly.

"Fiddling around the edges for a decade and more is no response to a global emergency.

"The Greens look forward to detailed Senate scrutiny of this draft bill and lengthy negotiations with the Government to green it up."