INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE: POLICY AND ACTION

Abstract

The Framework Convention on Climate Change, first negotiated at the Rio 'Earth Summit', has recently been ratified by the required 50 countries. Now that the Convention has come into force the pace of implementation will quicken with important implications for Australia and world trade. Developed countries, including Australia, are likely to be under significant pressure to strengthen the emission control commitments they made at Rio.

For a country like Australia with growing energy demand and a dependence on fossil fuels, the potential costs of meeting stringent greenhouse emission constraints are high, both in terms of domestic economic costs and lost export markets. We need to be vigilant with respect to policy developments in other countries and need to ensure that domestic greenhouse policies are appropriate to our circumstances.

The recent International Negotiating Committee (INC9) meeting in Geneva gives an indication of the direction of international policy developments and a forewarning of the potential dangers for Australia. This paper reviews the outcomes of INC9 and considers the implications of these developments for Australia.