AUSTRALIA will probably have to introduce new measures to meet its Kyoto
target on greenhouse gas emissions, Environment Minister Ian Campbell has
revealed.
Senator Campbell's statement appeared to be a shift in position for the Federal
Government, which has said it is on track to meet its target of an 8 per cent
increase.
His comments came as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who opened the high level
segment of the UN Climate Change Conference in Nairobi today, urged countries
which have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol to do so.
Senator Campbell, who is heading Australia's delegation in Nairobi, is holding
bilateral talks with representatives from other countries and was tonight due to
address the high-level forum.
"The message at all of those meetings with my ministerial colleagues and where I
talk is that not only will we be a very constructive partner in trying to build
this post-Kyoto framework, but we remain strongly committed to our Kyoto target
and we will probably have to bring in new measures to try to meet it," Senator
Campbell said.
Mr Annan was asked what his message would be to countries such as Australia and
the US, which have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and Canada, which has
admitted its greenhouse gas emissions target under the treaty is unachievable.
"There are countries which have not signed Kyoto but maintain that whether they
have signed it or not they are going to take steps to fight climate change," Mr
Annan said.
"It would be preferable if they signed the Kyoto agreement.
"If they do not sign the Kyoto agreement, they have to act and be in step with
the rest of the world, the rest of the industrialised world."
But Mr Annan also said he wanted governments to look beyond Kyoto, which he said
was "not a magic bullet".
Australia has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
The agreement, which sets greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed
countries, expires in 2012 and the conference is thrashing out a number of
issues ahead of next year's negotiations on taking Kyoto beyond its current
use-by date.
Australian Greenhouse Office director Howard Bamsey is co-chairing a discussion
group on possible approaches beyond the Kyoto framework.
Senator Campbell said: "The big challenge here is to get the developed and
developing worlds working together towards a comprehensive framework.
"That's not going to happen in Nairobi."
The spotlight in Nairobi is on large developing countries like Brazil, China and
India whose carbon pollution has grown along with their economic expansion.
The EU wants those countries to signal they will join rich nations in making
binding curbs in their emissions.
But developing nations argue that industrialised nations bear the historical
responsibility for most of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and should
therefore bear the cost of action.
"I don't think there's any chance that China and India are likely to sign up to
Kyoto-style binding targets," Senator Campbell said.
"You are going to need to find a more flexible approach to bring in the
developing countries."