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As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change continues, InvestorTV spoke to the Clean Energy Council’s CEO Dominique La Fontaine, who is attending the conference.
We asked Ms Fontaine what the reaction had been to Kevin Rudd’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, and what the impact will be on Australian business due to the new government’s stance on global warming.
“Every time it’s mentioned that Australia has ratified Kyoto – the Prime Minister did it yesterday – (there are) sustained rounds of applause; and on and on and on!" Ms La Fontaine says.
“And it’s really added a great injection of momentum into the talks here, and when the Prime Minister spoke yesterday, he gave a very strong speech about the fact that we do need to have binding targets globally, especially for developed countries.
“All developed countries need to take a lead, and he re-iterated the “all”, and it just underlined the fact that Australia is back again on the world stage in terms of addressing the climate change dilemma.”
The Kyoto treaty expires in 2012, and many critics have argued that Australia’s ratification at this late stage is purely symbolic. However Ms Fontaine believes that it will still have a profound effect on business and industry in Australia.
“Ratifying Kyoto enables us to participate directly in emissions trading systems in Europe, and also to participate in and benefit from the Clean Development Mechanisms directly from Australia,” says Ms Fontaine.
“In the past we’ve had to do that through joint ventures with companies in countries that have ratified Kyoto. This enables us to now be able to access markets worth many millions of dollars, so that is a direct benefit for Australian business.
“For the mining sectors and for the other sectors in Australia; what it means now is that companies need to be very cognizant of their carbon liability. And if they haven’t been concerned about that, it’s something that they do need to start to address, and have a look at the carbon liability of their processes and their products and think about ways that they can start mitigating carbon.
“The government of Australia has committed to putting in place an emissions trading system in terms of setting up the rules and the design by the end of 2008, with commencement around 2010,” Ms Fontaine says.
Ongoing talks in Bali are also trying to resolve how Australia and other developed countries will help to ensure that developing countries are provided with the means to tackle their own emissions, as part of the wider global campaign.
Ms Fontaine says of these talks: “That’s the technology transfer issue – developing countries need to feel that the developed countries will provide them with the latest technologies and that developed countries make sure that as a commercial enterprise they are duly rewarded for the effort that they are putting in, and really that issue is something that I think business needs to be very involved in the shape of the way forward for that because it is a business issue.”
We asked Ms Fontaine what the reaction had been to Kevin Rudd’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, and what the impact will be on Australian business due to the new government’s stance on global warming.
“Every time it’s mentioned that Australia has ratified Kyoto – the Prime Minister did it yesterday – (there are) sustained rounds of applause; and on and on and on!" Ms La Fontaine says.
“And it’s really added a great injection of momentum into the talks here, and when the Prime Minister spoke yesterday, he gave a very strong speech about the fact that we do need to have binding targets globally, especially for developed countries.
“All developed countries need to take a lead, and he re-iterated the “all”, and it just underlined the fact that Australia is back again on the world stage in terms of addressing the climate change dilemma.”
The Kyoto treaty expires in 2012, and many critics have argued that Australia’s ratification at this late stage is purely symbolic. However Ms Fontaine believes that it will still have a profound effect on business and industry in Australia.
“Ratifying Kyoto enables us to participate directly in emissions trading systems in Europe, and also to participate in and benefit from the Clean Development Mechanisms directly from Australia,” says Ms Fontaine.
“In the past we’ve had to do that through joint ventures with companies in countries that have ratified Kyoto. This enables us to now be able to access markets worth many millions of dollars, so that is a direct benefit for Australian business.
“For the mining sectors and for the other sectors in Australia; what it means now is that companies need to be very cognizant of their carbon liability. And if they haven’t been concerned about that, it’s something that they do need to start to address, and have a look at the carbon liability of their processes and their products and think about ways that they can start mitigating carbon.
“The government of Australia has committed to putting in place an emissions trading system in terms of setting up the rules and the design by the end of 2008, with commencement around 2010,” Ms Fontaine says.
Ongoing talks in Bali are also trying to resolve how Australia and other developed countries will help to ensure that developing countries are provided with the means to tackle their own emissions, as part of the wider global campaign.
Ms Fontaine says of these talks: “That’s the technology transfer issue – developing countries need to feel that the developed countries will provide them with the latest technologies and that developed countries make sure that as a commercial enterprise they are duly rewarded for the effort that they are putting in, and really that issue is something that I think business needs to be very involved in the shape of the way forward for that because it is a business issue.”
