Australia's Labor Government Ratifies Kyoto Treaty

Its funny in a way, because suddenly Australia looks like the humbled prodigal son, tail between the leg, (and a plethora of other overused metaphors).
But Johnny Howard was not all that bad, and i would like you to remember that.

Australia's Labor Government Ratifies Kyoto Treaty

By Angela Macdonald-Smith
    Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian government ratified
the Kyoto Protocol, leaving the U.S. as the only major developed
nation that hasn't joined the accord aimed at reducing emissions
of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
    The endorsement was approved by the first executive council
meeting of Australia's new Labor government this morning, Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement on the Labor Party's Web
site. Australia will become a full member of the Kyoto Protocol
by the end of March, he said.
    Rudd reversed the policy of former Liberal Prime Minister
John Howard, ousted in the Nov. 24 election, who argued that
ratifying the accord would cut economic growth and cost jobs.
United Nations-sponsored talks on a new emissions treaty started
today in Bali, where the U.S. is set to continue President
George W. Bush's opposition to mandatory emissions curbs.
    ``Australia's change makes the U.S. all the more isolated,
we've already seen a change in position in U.S. policy in the
last six months,'' said Martijn Wilder, a partner specializing
in climate change at law firm Baker & McKenzie in Sydney.  The
U.S. still won't join Kyoto, yet is appearing increasingly
``prepared to do something'' within an international accord to
address climate change, he said.

                         Decision Applauded

    News of Australia joining Kyoto was met with enthusiastic
applause at today's opening session of the UN climate change
meeting in Bali.
    The ``emotional and spontaneous'' reaction of the Bali
delegates reflected ``appreciation of the courage of Australia
to take this dramatically different position,'' Yvo de Boer,
executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, told reporters today.
    The number of industrialized nations who have refused to
ratify Kyoto ``is now reduced in half by size,'' de Boer said,
referring to the U.S.'s sole position as the only developed
country not participating in the climate pact.
    Australia's decision will put pressure on Bush to ``become
serious'' about negotiating a new agreement to replace Kyoto
after the climate accord expires in 2012, said Arthur Runge-
Metzger, a senior European Commission official, who oversees
climate policy.
    Australia's target under the Kyoto accord is to limit
growth in greenhouse gas emissions to an 8 percent increase
above 1990 levels over the 2008-2012 period. The country is
``tracking within 1 percentage point'' of meeting that target,
then-environment minister Malcolm Turnbull said in May.
Australia is one of only three industrialized nations signed up
to the accord that are allowed to increase emissions from 1990
levels by 2008-2012.

                       Emissions Trading

    The Labor government will do ``everything in its power'' to
help the nation meet its Kyoto obligations, Rudd said. This will
include setting a target to cut emissions by 60 percent on 2000
levels by 2050, starting a national emissions trading system by
2020 and setting a target for 20 percent of electricity to come
from renewable sources such as the sun and wind by 2020, he said.
    Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions were 559.1
million metric tons in 2005, unchanged from the previous year,
the government said May 2. Emissions from power generation and
transport rose by 1.3 percent from a year earlier.
    Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force on
Feb. 16, 2005, will allow Australian companies to participate in
the international trading regime set up under the accord and to
invest in two types of project-based emissions reductions
systems, in developed and developing countries, Freehills, a law
firm, said Nov. 27.

                         Forestry, Waste

    Investment opportunities will immediately open up for
companies in industries including forestry, waste management and
coal-seam gas production, said Andrew Richards, manager,
corporate and government, at Pacific Hydro Ltd., the Australian
renewable energy producer owned by pension funds manager
Industry Funds Management.
    ``We'll be able to partner with other ratifying countries
to develop different types of abatement activity in Australia
and overseas,'' Melbourne-based Richards said in a telephone
interview. ``That's the new significant area of business that
will immediately open up to us.''
    It's important for Australia to look beyond its Kyoto
target, which is an increase from 1990 levels, and start cutting
emissions, said John Connor, chief executive of the Sydney-based
Climate Institute, an independent advisory group on climate
change.
    ``We do need to get cracking now, our pollution from our
energy sector has been spiraling,'' Connor told reporters.
``Certainly the Kyoto target can be reached. But more
importantly, that's an increase in greenhouse pollution: When
will Australia be reversing our rise in greenhouse pollution?
That's the timeline we're looking for and that should be by
2012.''

                           Bali Team

    Prime Minister Rudd, Minister for Climate Change and Water
Penny Wong and Environment Minister Peter Garrett will represent
Australia at Bali.
    Australia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol takes effect
90 days after the so-called instrument of ratification is
received by the UN.

--With reporting by Kim Chipman in Bali. Editor: Clyde Russell,
Jane Lee.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at +61-2-9777-1268 or
amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at +65-6212-1167 or aprakash1@bloomberg.net