The Australian Greens have launched a report, Re-energising Australia, which breaks important new ground in the climate and resource policy debate in Australia.

Re-Energising Australia proposes solutions to the converging challenges of climate change, oil depletion, and the vulnerability of the resource dependent Australian economy. Re-Energising Australia sets out what we need to achieve, a suite of policy options and strategies to do so, and the array of opportunities that such action presents.

Barney Foran, visiting fellow at the Australian National University and a member of the expert panel involved in developing Re-Energising Australia, praised the report, saying "The cross cutting nature of the philosophical thought and its translation into practical policies set a new standard for national policy design in Australia."

Australian Greens Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, said today in releasing the report, "The science is clear. Industrialised nations, like Australia, need to reduce our emissions by 30% by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050 if we are to have a decent chance of preventing runaway climate change. We also must face up to the increasing rates of oil depletion and our unsustainable economy based on digging up, cutting down and shipping overseas.

"We can solve these interconnected problems without destroying the economy. Federal and state governments need to develop a wide range of strategies in a coordinated way. Some will be regulatory levers, some will provide economic inducements and some will impose economic penalties; but all will create new economic opportunities.

"The collapse of the Murray Darling should be a wake up call. It demonstrates the truth of Sir Nicholas Stern's view that the cost of addressing climate change is nowhere near as expensive as not addressing it."

"When the Prime Minister committed Australian troops to East Timor, or to respond to global terrorism, he didn't cost the action but rather argued that the cost in human lives and misery of not acting was untenable. Such is the case with climate change, but the Prime Minister does not see it.

"What is the cost to Australian farmers and rural communities of the collapse of the Murray Darling system because Mr Howard didn't buy back water allocations ten years ago? What is the cost of a 1 metre sea level rise to coastal communities? What is the cost of communities displaced in the Pacific or a world without the Great Barrier Reef?

"The imperative of the twin problems of climate change and oil depletion is that it requires us to change the way we live. The silver lining is that the transition to a low carbon economy creates new jobs, economic opportunities and greater security for those nations that grasp them."

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Re-Energising Australia.pdf	09/03/09 1:12 am	1.12 MB