Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Rudd accused of lying to Australia on climate change


by Carmelo Amalfi
CHIEF negotiators in Copenhagen have accused Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of a climate change con.
Chinese delegates and Sudanese chairman of the G77 group representing 132 developing countries told reporters Mr Rudd was a liar.
Lumumba Di-Aping, who caused a political storm when he accused developed countries last week of drafting a secret deal to sideline the Kyoto Protocol, claimed the Australian Government was not genuine in its promise to fight climate change.
He said Mr Rudd’s message to people in Australia was, “a fabrication, it’s fiction”, when his promise at the last election was to join the Kyoto Protocol and global efforts to curb global warming.
“All what Australia has done so far is simply not good enough,” Di-Aping said, claiming Mr Rudd was trying to gain a strategic economic advantage by siding with the United States and European Union.
“Australia is committed to killing Kyoto,” he said.
Neither Mr Rudd nor Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, who are at COP15, have yet to comment.
Di-Aping’s claims precede the arrival of world leaders and heads of state in Copenhagen.
Mr Rudd told a news conference that his aim was to get the best possible agreement for Australia. That meant getting a genuine agreement between rich and poor nations that was, “the cheapest, the most effective, the most pro-jobs agreement possible”.
“Just as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is the cheapest most effective way to act on climate change locally, so too is an agreement here in Copenhagen the cheapest and most effective way to act globally,” he said.
Mr Rudd flew into Copenhagen without parliamentary approval of his carbon trade laws, stating the talks were at risk of failure unless there was a compromise between the developed and emerging economies of the world.
But he was confident a landmark deal could be endorsed by the end of the week when US president Barack Obama is expected to arrive.
“We have a fundamental national interest at stake in securing the strongest possible global agreement, because it affects Australia,” he said.

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