UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Bali this December

As an energy exporter and a carbon-intensive economy, Australia can play a decisive role in the international response to climate change. The Government's pillars might at first look superficially impressive. But when we examine the substance, it becomes clear that the five pillars don't actually hold up much weight. The first pillar, support for progress towards a new global framework, is the Government's most abject failure. This failure began with a negative approach to the original Kyoto Protocol negotiations, which saw it achieve the dubious honour of being one of only three industrialised countries to negotiate an increased target of emissions from the 1990 baseline level.