Compare Party Responses

21. Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted devastating effects of climate change on the global environment and population. At the same time a body of contrary scientific evidence is beginning to emerge in the debate. What is your Party’s position on climate change, and what are the policies it plans to implement on that basis, including for the world’s poorest?

• This party does not believe there is any conclusive evidence to support the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s predictions
• Real climate change which will occur and has always occurred is outside our control, but we should consider strategies to minimise the real effects of these climate changes which will inevitably occur.

The Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

• Family First is opposed to the current Commonwealth Emissions Trading bill.
• Family First does support increased investment and research into alternative energy generation.  

Family First is opposed to the current Commonwealth Emissions Trading bill, but does support increased investment and research into alternative energy generation. Australia should aim to be energy self sufficient, and it is unacceptable that Australia is dependent on much of its energy for transportation being sourced from countries that are politically unstable or hostile toward it.  Australia has the potential to develop new energy technologies such as geothermal energy that is both clean and would reduce our dependence on foreign energy.

Australia must contribute fairly to the critical global challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This means we need an emission target of between 25 and 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, as well as a range of policies to ensure we meet it. In 2009 the Greens introduced the Safe Climate Bill - a collection of 12 bills based around the pillars of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transport and forest protection, supported by an environmentally effective and economically efficient carbon pricing scheme. In the face of government inaction, the Greens have presented an alternative proposal for the immediate introduction of an interim carbon price, as recommended by Professor Ross Garnaut. The carbon price would be replaced by an emissions trading scheme, if appropriate and effective legislation is introduced by a future government.

• Climate change is real and we need to build a community consensus about putting a price on carbon in the future.
• Julia Gillard and Labor are already taking real action to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce our carbon emissions.
• Federal  Labor is implementing the Water for the Future Plan, including the first ever purchase of water entitlements by the Federal Government to restore the health of the Murray-Darling System.

Federal Labor’s position on climate change is very strong and was demonstrated when one of the first acts of the new Labor Government was the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2007.

The Gillard Labor Government’s plans will modernise our economy by investing in clean energy initiatives, including over $4.5 billion to support ground-breaking clean coal technologies and renewable energy projects. We have begun the transformation of the automotive industry with the completed production of the first Australian-built hybrid car.

Federal Labor introduced the Renewable Energy Target to ensure 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity will come from renewable energy sources by 2020. In addition we are helping households move to renewable energy by providing solar rebates to more than 90,000 households and community organisations to tackle climate change and help families save on energy costs.

Federal Labor is implementing the Water for the Future Plan, including the first ever purchase of water entitlements by the Federal Government to restore the health of the Murray-Darling System. Helping secure our urban water supplies by providing funding to help build desalination, water recycling & stormwater harvesting projects in our major cities and towns.

We note that climate is always in a flux of change.

• Environmental issues are important and must be managed responsibly.
• The media reporting on climate change has been biased and does not cover those scientists who challenge popular climate change assumptions.
• CDP will not commit itself to any course of action that is certain to damage economic prosperity if the hoped-for benefits to the environment are uncertain or disproportionately costly.
• All climate change policies must be adopted on a worldwide level, as Australia is one of the smallest contributors to carbon, only 2%, which is very low compared to USA, China, India and Russia.

The CDP believes that environmental issues are important because the environment is God-given and sustains life. We have an obligation to responsibly manage the environment and to mitigate, where feasible, environmental change and pollution. However, it needs to be remembered that the earth was made for humankind. The environment needs to be kept in perspective as the servant to humankind and not elevated to the point where human lives are sacrificed in favour of preserving the life of some plants or animals.

CDP:

1. Accepts that the scientific debate around climate change is unresolved and in that sense the CDP remains agnostic in respect to scientific elements of the climate change debate.
2. CDP will not commit itself to any course of action that is certain to damage economic prosperity if the hoped-for benefits to the environment are uncertain or disproportionately costly.
3. Does not support carbon trading schemes as they are considered futile and create an unnecessary burden on our economy.
4. Does not support Australia being a signatory to the Kyoto protocol.
5. Encourages the development of economic alternatives to fossil fuels and cleaner coal mining technologies.
6. Wants to see a more balanced media treatment of the debate and issues surrounding climate change in school curriculum and the media.
7. Supports a forestry policy that balances sustainable environmental practices with the interests and long term viability of   rural and regional forestry communities.
8. The implementation of viable programs to deal with salt damage to agricultural land.

• The Coalition has a direct action policy on the table ready to be implemented.  It does not involve further talkfests or delay.  The Coalition will go to this election with a detailed and costed plan outlining how we intend to reduce Australia’s emissions and delivering broader environmental benefits for all Australians.
• In addition, a Coalition Government will fund a standing green army of up to 15,000 people that will be available on an ongoing basis and supplemented by volunteers to tackle the local and regional environmental priorities that most urgently require the sustained application of labour.

While there are no cost-free approaches to reducing Australia’s CO2 emissions, the world has moved on from Copenhagen.  In the absence of action by major global emitters, the Coalition believes that we can achieve a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 through Direct Action. 

The Coalition’s climate action policy provides incentives for Australian families and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions.  It focuses on meaningful, effective and direct action whilst also providing funding for broader improvements to Australia’s environment beyond emissions reductions. 

The Coalition’s policy involves several measures, including the funding of emissions abatement through such forms as carbon sequestration and a once in a century rejuvenation of our soils, and the planting of 20 million trees. 

• We believe that the scientific evidence clearly shows that we cannot expect carbon dioxide emissions to significantly warm the world. There is strong proof that the world experienced both higher temperatures and higher rates of warming prior to the post WWII industrialisation and experiments prove that the warming effect of each additional part per million of carbon dioxide dramatically diminishes as the total concentration increases.
• However, increased concentrations of carbon dioxide do have the scientifically proven benefit of accelerating plant growth and therefore food production.
• Therefore the best thing we can do for poor countries is emit as much carbon dioxide as possible to help increase crop yields and reduce starvation.

Our position is provided in our policies located at http://ncpp.xisle.info.

We oppose the environmental trading scheme. This is because it is a form of taxation. Our party supports the need positive action through the provision of renewal types of energy.

The Secular Party supports a carbon tax and a tax on coal exports. See our policy at http://www.secular.org.au/mnu-individual-freedom-and-choices/mnu-policiy-details.

Climate Change does exist and has done so since the beginning of time. The question being debated is whether or not man-made emissions contribute to climate change in any significant way (called anthropomorphic climate change). The DLP believes that human activity does not impact on climate change in any significant way. Efforts to reduce the so-called ‘carbon footprint’ will do little to change temperature variations and trends. However, in as much as efforts to reduce polluting our environment can be seen as good stewardship of the planet, we give qualified support for such initiatives so long as the science is proven and not speculative, the outcomes are significant and the impact on families and the economy are minimal.