Mark Butler, Subject: IPCC Report

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE ON IPCC 

REPORT

Date:  03 November 2014

MARK BUTLER, SHADOW MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE: [audio cuts in] from the world’s leading climate scientists reaffirms the importance of the world starting to reduce its carbon pollution over time. It's quite clear now that Australia, as the largest polluter per head of population in the OECD, must do its fair share. It's also particularly clear that without a legal cap on carbon pollution contained in the deal between Clive Palmer and Tony Abbott last week, that this deal between the Palmer United Party and the Abbott Government simply will not do the job. This report also reaffirms the importance of the whole world starting to lift its renewable energy investment and again, it just reaffirms the recklessness of Tony Abbott walking away from his election promise to keep Australia's renewable energy target in place. At a time when the scientific advice is only becoming clearer, at a time when the rest of the world including China and the United States are moving forward, it is utterly reckless of Tony Abbott to put Australia in the position of being the only country moving backwards on climate change. 

JOURNALIST: Is it time for Australia to give up its coal? 

BUTLER: We had a very clear approach to the question of electricity generation including coal generation versus gas and renewables and that was to put a legal cap on carbon pollution that would limit the amount of pollution that would be able to come out of the electricity sector and then let the business community work out the cheapest, the most effective way to operate. At the same time, we had enormous investment in renewable energy technology to the point where last year, Australia was one of the four most attractive places to invest in renewable technology. We have plummeted on that index of global renewable investment, because of Tony Abbott walking away from his promise to keep the renewable energy target in place. 

JOURNALIST: The report outlines a pretty scary-sounding scenario [inaudible] food shortages, shouldn't we be taking it more seriously? 

BUTLER: The Labor Party is taking this seriously. We are committed to there being a cap on carbon pollution that is able to be reduced over time in accordance with our international obligations. This is not particularly an American challenge or Chinese challenge, or an Australian challenge. This must be a challenge taken up by the global community and that is why it is so distressing to see Tony Abbott recklessly walking away from climate action, being the only country in the world really to start moving backwards on climate change while the rest of the world is moving forward. The scientific advice from today makes it crystal clear if we don't start taking action now, the lives of our children and grandchildren’s generations will be much, much harder. 

JOURNALIST: How should Australia deal with growing demand for energy from countries like China and India? 

BUTLER: Those countries, China particularly and India under the new Prime Minister Modi is making it clear they see renewable energy investment as a critically important priority for their country. Chinese investment in renewable energy is now by far the biggest in the world and Australia had the capacity to be a part of that growing global market. As I said, we were one of the four most attractive places to invest for renewable energy last year, but we've since plummeted to 10th place. There is a revolution happening across the world in the way in which energy, particularly electricity is produced. Australia can either get with that revolution or if Tony Abbott has his way, we can miss the boat entirely. 

Thanks very much, everyone.