The second period started in 2013 and will run until 2020.
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Innovation and technology are the keys to both stronger economic growth and a clean environment, Malcolm Turnbull said in a speech to world leaders at the Paris Climate Conference.
Both the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and the Electrical Trades Union, but said that workers must not be left behind. What has changed other than the prime minister in terms of Australia’s climate change efforts? These countries are already very concerned that industrialised counties are continuing to side-step their leadership obligations under the existing United Nations climate regime.
Turnbull, who addressed COP21 on Monday local time, has reemphasised the country’s appetite for combatting global warming, but environmental advocates are watching Australia’s new prime minister closely as he attends the landmark talks in Paris. This new tack is also consistent with Turnbull’s new positive message about opportunities and innovation, and with his previous position on climate as opposition leader in 2009.
The Authority, set up by the former Labor government but mostly shunned by the current administration, released the second of three reports planned on future climate policy options.
In Australia’s political system ratifying global treaties, which includes the Kyoto Protocol Mark I and II, does not require any formal legislative approval.
Labor and the Greens had a strong presence amongst the large crowd but there was next to no branding visibility or presence, for the Liberals and National Party.
“The Prime Minister knows what he ought to do, but he doesn’t have the courage to do it”, Mr Shorten said.
But the goal of any changes would not be to raise revenue only to spend more. This may mean designing an ETS that allows liable polluting firms to import an unlimited number of cheap worldwide carbon credits to meet their emissions caps, reducing the incentive to clean up domestic production processes.
The deal struck between then-opposition leader Turnbull and prime minister Rudd saw compensation to the coal industry and electricity sector increased by billions of dollars, and made further concessions to the gas industry.
The Greens also took aim at Mr Turnbull over Australia’s rejection of a statement of support at the summit for reform of fossil fuel subsidies.
A long-time observer of the climate negotiations, Deputy Chief Executive of the Climate Institute Erwin Jackson, said the decision by Australia to ratify the second phase of Kyoto was meaningful and would given Australian business access to global carbon markets.
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“The fact of the matter is what Australia’s government is saying is we’re not Tony Abbott but the truth of the matter is we’ve still got Tony Abbot’s policies”.
