PRESS STATEMENT 1900
Welcome address Mr Ralph Hillman, Australia’s Ambassador for the
Environment Pacific Islands Conference on Climate Change,
Climate Variability and Sea-Level Rise Rarotonga, Cook Islands
3-7 April 2000
Australia’s ties with the Pacific are strong and long standing.
Our people enjoy historical connections, a common Pacific
heritage, a widening range of political and economic links and
a broad network of personal ties. We have long accepted that
Pacific Island countries are particularly disadvantaged
by isolation, limited production bases, and vulnerability to
natural disasters. Our aid partnership and defence relations
through the Pacific Patrol Boat program exemplify the spirit of
cooperation that characterises our relations with the island
nations of the Pacific.
It is against this background that I’d like to say how pleased
Australia is to be associated with the Pacific Islands Climate
Change, Climate Variability, and Sea-Level Rise Conference here
in Rarotonga. Australia has made a substantial contribution to
the funding of this conference through our South Pacific Sea
Level and Climate Monitoring Project.
That project is building a high quality data base on sea level
change in the Pacific. A discussion of the project - and its
findings to date - is scheduled for tomorrow. As we all know,
measuring climate change is a long-term proposition. It
therefore gives me great pleasure to inform the conference that
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Alexander Downer,
has announced that Australia will fund a third phase of the
project through to 2005.
We think there is considerable merit in the conference theme -
“Linking Climate Science to Climate Policy.” Good policy is
based on sound analysis and in the climate arena, it needs to
be based on quality science. Accordingly, I am pleased to see
such a strong turn out of scientific expertise at the
conference.
I hope that by the end of this week we will have developed a
realistic regional framework for addressing the issues based on
sound science. The Australian Government is committed to
assisting Pacific Island countries to respond to climate
variability and climate change. Through AusAID, we
already have a broad programme of activities in place aimed at
addressing climate-related issues in the Pacific.
For example, in addition to our sealevel and climate monitoring
project that I just mentioned, we are planning to assist
Pacific Island countries develop strong meteorological services
to help forecast climate variability and
extreme weather events. Our contribution to disaster management
efforts also aims to assist PICs to cope with extreme weather
events. Through SPC and in partnership with France, we are
und4ertaking a project focussed on demonstrating small-scale
renewable energy technologies appropriate for Pacific Island
countries.
We also hope that Pacific Island countries will explore
opportunities to help them identify the benefits and
opportunities of the Clean Development Mechanism through the
national strategy study programme. Australia has contributed
US$2 million (AU$3 million) to this collaborative initiative
with the World Bank.
Developing countries in the Pacific and elsewhere have the right
to expect major emitters of greenhouse gases to act to address
greenhouse emissions growth. The Kyoto Protocol is an important
milestone in this regard. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Australia’s
target requires that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions growth
to 108 per cent of our 1990 baseline. This equates to a
challenging reduction of almost 30 per cent from business-as-
usual projections, in line with other countries.
Australia is putting in place a broad-ranging programme of
measures to ensure that this target can be met. In 1997, Prime
Minister Howard announced a major package of measures to
address climate change - allocating AU$180 million over five
years toward domestic programmes aimed at reducing emissions.
In June last year, the Australian Government committed an
additional AU$796 million to a new, far-reaching emissions
reduction programme through the Measures for a Better
Environment initiative. Overall, the Australian Government’s
greenhouse programmes represent almost AU$1 billion worth of
expenditure, making Australia a world leader in terms of
government funding for greenhouse on a per capita basis.
This expenditure is a very real measure of the importance
Australia gives to action to tackle climate change. An official
from the Australian Greenhouse Office will explain our domestic
greenhouse programme in greater detail during the conference.
Ultimately, the solution to global warming lies in the entry-
into-force and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. Australia
attaches considerable importance to the completion of the
negotiations that will permit ratification and entry-into-force
of the Protocol.
At COP5 last November an intensified negotiating plan was agreed
and we were encouraged by ministerial reaffirmation’s of
determination to make substantial progress at COP6 in The Hague
later this year. A COP6 that delivers balanced decisions on the
outstanding issues it will address will be an important step
towards entry-into-force of the Protocol. The final step, that
will be the key to the implementation of Kyoto, will be the
acceptance of commitments by major developing countries, whose
emissions of greenhouse gases are projected to surpass those of
developed countries within 15 years.
Australia would like to foster a cooperative approach to the
negotiations with our Pacific neighbours. Regular dialogue and
better understanding of our respective concerns will contribute
positively to this aim. This conference provides an excellent
opportunity to advance this understanding, along with its
overarching goal of ensuring sound climate policy based on
sound science.
Forum Secretariat/South Pacific Regional Environment Programme
Rarotonga, Cook Islands 3 April 2000
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