Vote Climate

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on the the Liberal party cabinet to ratify Kyoto but the cabinet refused.

In response John Howard as kept claiming that countries like India and China are not included in the Kyoto process. This is completely false.

The current Kyoto agreement acknowledges that 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions from humans have come for the developed countries. To compensate the developing countries the 1st round of Kyoto forces the developed countries to cut emissions while deliberating allowing developing countries to increase emissions.

Australia is the only developed country that is allowed to increase its' emissions under the 1st phase.

In the 2nd phase due to start after 2012 and all countries will need to make cuts.

The only major countries not playing an active role in this global effort to reduce our greenhouse gases are Australia and America. These countries have in fact have undermined the process at every point.

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote

"The Australian Financial Review reported that Mr Turnbull had argued the Government would get kudos and lose nothing by ratifying the protocol.

But the cabinet, in a discussion about six weeks ago, decided a turnaround would not be credible after Mr Howard had argued so strongly against ratification for so many years.

The newspaper said Mr Turnbull would not comment on the cabinet discussion. But it quoted him as saying: "We are going to meet our [Kyoto] targets anyway so it wouldn't impose any burden on us that we haven't committed to anyway."

"Campaigning yesterday in the Labor seat of Parramatta - which is notionally Liberal after the redistribution - Mr Howard said at least six times that what was needed was a new agreement including all emitters.

"To have an international agreement on climate change that doesn't include China and the United States is like having a World Cup in cricket without India and Australia. It simply is meaningless," he said.

"Our view very strongly is that we need a new international agreement that includes the major emitters. Kyoto doesn't bind China. It means that we need an agreement that does include China."