Aussie PM urged to 'be strong on greenhouse'

Top story in the media today in Australia -- not the world economic crisis or the US presidential election -- but a group of Australia's leading climate scientists who have written an open letter to the Prime Minister urging him to impose deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and back a tough global agreement that will avoid dangerous climate change. Quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald the 16 world-class scientists, who all worked with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warn "there is no time to lose" and call on Mr Rudd to slash Australia's emissions by at least 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. (see http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/dont-go-soft-on-climate-pm-warned... ).

The scientists say an Australian target of 25 per cent would be "an equitable contribution" to the global effort to avoid dangerous climate change. "As a group of Australia's leading climate change scientists, we urge you to adopt this target as a minimum requirement for Australia's contribution to an effective global climate agreement." They also point out that "In the long run, greenhouse gas concentrations need to be stabilised at a level well below 450ppm. In order to stay below 2 degrees C, global emissions must peak and decline before 2015 so there is no time to lose."
Read the full letter at www.science.unsw.edu.au/ruddletter