Australia’s leading industry group has thrown its weight behind the result achieved in Cancun.
It has branded the meeting an important step forward for action on climate change.
But Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout also said Australia’s international competitors must take similar action to combat carbon emissions so as to prevent the nation’s trade-exposed businesses from suffering a loss of competitiveness from domestic climate policies.
Ms Ridout said in a statement that the momentum for international action had been renewed over the weekend but “there is still a considerable way to go”.
“The debates over domestic policy need to take on board both the slow pace towards an international agreement and the encouraging reinstatement of international momentum,” she said.
Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the UN climate conference should not be used to justify a huge hit on electricity prices for mums and dads and pensioners. “The message is very simple: it’s a good agreement on forests but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for a massive electricity tax,” Mr Hunt said.
The Climate Institute’s John Connor said the Cancun result increased the pressure on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Mr Hunt to devise a credible position on climate change. “The Coalition are still living off the red meat of the kills from their great big new tax campaign against emissions trading, but their policy credibility is wearing thin,” he said.
“The message to Australia from Cancun is we need not only an interim carbon price but a staged mechanism for introducing emissions trading.”
Under Sunday’s UN deal, the 194 national delegations in Cancun agreed to establish a Green Climate Fund to help developing countries deal with climate change.
They also agreed on a mechanism to reduce emissions from the destruction of forests and measures to start verifying actual emissions made by nations in line with their voluntary pledges.
