Germanwatch is author of Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).
CCPI has just made the ridiculous claim that Australia is third last in the fight against climate change.
To date, the ridiculous document called Kyoto has had carbon emissions targets which Australia has met, although Australia was not signatory.
Nations which failed to meet the targets, but which were signatories, include New Zealand, Italy, France and many others.
The CPPI blamed the previous conservative government for the failings, without suggesting why this erronious result should be true.
Australia failing to protect climate
ReplyDeletefrom news.com.au
AUSTRALIAN has come third last in a new study that assesses how much or how little 56 countries have done to protect the climate.
The only nations that performed worse were the United States, which finished second last, and Saudi Arabia, in last place.
The environmental group Germanwatch took aim at Australia's "very poor" performance in its latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), having slipped to 54th position from 47th last year.
The latest index, published today, evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of the 56 countries that are responsible for 90 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.
It says that in large parts of the world, including Australia, the United States and Canada, "appropriate climate protection has not been exercised yet".
"Particularly Australia's climate policy has more and more deviated from the necessary reduction targets as stated in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change after the last 11 years of John Howard's" government, it said.
"Australia increased its energy related emissions by 42 per cent between 1990 and 2005.
"The country will only upgrade its position in the index if the newly elected (Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd will keep his promises and realise a serious climate protection agenda."
As was the case last year, Sweden is the country doing most to protect the climate, followed by Germany which on Wednesday unveiled a package of laws and regulations to help it meet its target of a 40 per cent cut in greenhouse gases by 2020.
Mr Rudd has backed away from supporting that target, despite Australian delegates at the UN climate change summit in Bali expressing full support for such cuts.
Labor does have a 2050 target of cutting greenhouse gas pollution by 60 per cent, but plans to wait for a report next year by economist Ross Garnaut before setting shorter term goals.
Second-placed Germany displaced Britain, which slipped to seventh. Iceland ranked third.
However, Germanwatch said that even high-ranking countries could not sit back and relax.
"The results illustrate that even if all countries engaged in the same manner, current efforts would still be insufficient to prevent dangerous climate change," it said.
- with AFP