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December 8, 2007
Australia Wants India, China
to Make Tough Emission Cuts
By Neena Bhandari

Sydney
India and China must set tough and binding emission targets before Australia agrees to a post-Kyoto agreement beyond 2012, says new Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean.

"Australia's task is at the appropriate time to commit to targets but it's also to try and secure binding commitments from developing countries," he said.

The minister said commitments by developed countries alone to cut carbon dioxide emissions would not solve global warming.

Rich countries are being asked to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020.

Crean said Australia was not going to sign up to any binding commitments on battling climate change until it had the results of a report commissioned by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's climate change economic specialist, expected next year, reports Australian Associated Press.

Crean is in Bali for the trade ministers' meeting ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference. He told a news conference there: "The meeting of trade ministers I think emphasises the point that it's not just the environmental imperative that we're dealing with but the economic opportunities that come from solving climate change.

"Climate change and its solutions open up important opportunities for jobs and for trade between nations in environmental products and services."

The minister emphasised that the Labour government's approach to trade negotiations is to put much greater emphasis back on securing an outcome in the Doha Round. "By far the best opportunities for trade is through liberalisation through the multilateral round."

December 8, 2007   

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