Sometimes the issues can appear so overwhelming we don't know where to start. And with all the gas being emitted from our politicians, it's going to become harder to sort the real solutions from the spin.
So GetUp has gone straight to the leading environmental policy experts in the country - from Greenpeace to the Climate Institute and the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change - for their blueprint for tackling the climate crisis. Find out what the experts agree we need to do, so you'll be prepared to hold our leaders accountable.
1) We must make it against the law for greenhouse gas emissions to go up any further, and instead aggressively drive them back down.
In California, the world's six largest economy, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced targets of 80 per cent emissions reductions by 2050. Meanwhile Australia's emissions have increased 10 per cent in the last decade, and are set to rise by an additional 17 per cent by 2020 according to the Australian Greenhouse Office, mostly because of coal-fired power plants and land clearing. Meanwhile, experts agree we need deep cuts of at least 60 per cent by 2050.
2) Put an economic incentive in place to reduce pollution and encourage energy efficiency and innovation.
From abundant sun to wind and even geo-thermal power, Australia has the potential to start dramatically reducing our dependence on finite, polluting fossil fuels right now. But until we take into account the true cost of pollution and price carbon appropriately, clean energy just won't make sense to industry's bottom line.
3) Ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the only international treaty that addresses climate change, joining the global solution and making the low-carbon transition easier on Australia's economy.
Signing Kyoto immediately opens gives us access to an annual global carbon trading market that the UN Environment Program forecasts to be worth $2.6 trillion by 2012, and makes the transition to a carbon-constrained world far easier on Australia's economy than going it alone.
4) Legislate medium and long-term targets for meeting our energy needs from clean, renewable sources.
We need clear, binding targets to drive renewable energy to at least 20 per cent of our total energy use by 2020 and 30 per cent by 2030. Because of lack of government incentives and investments, Australia is lagging behind a global clean energy market worth $74 billion in 2005, and the proportion of electricity we receive from renewable energy is in decline.
5) Kick the coal addiction, and provide a just transition for miners and their communities.
We cannot keep investing in polluting, finite sources of fuel and hope technology provides the silver bullet solution in another decade to come.
If this all sounds like too much to ask, consider the Federal Government has a budget surplus this year of $15 billion, and gives away over $1.2 billion alone in tax benefits to encourage the use of business cars. To get our politicians' priorities on track, we need to stand up and be counted. Join the movement and get on the Climate Action Map now.
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