Fed: Howard govt attacks Kyoto poll

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2001
Fed: Howard govt attacks Kyoto poll

By Elizabeth Gosch and Jordan Baker

CANBERRA, April 20 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard and his Industry Minister today
attacked a poll which found strong support for Australia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol
on global warming.

The Newspoll, conducted for Greenpeace, found more than 80 per cent of Australians
supported ratifying the treaty, with or without the backing of the United States.

Both Mr Howard and Industry Minister Nick Minchin criticised the survey and stood by
the government's decision not to ratify the protocol unless the US did so first.

The US recently withdrew from the protocol, an international environment agreement
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world.

The European Union, Japan and New Zealand have led a push to ratify the agreement without
the US, which would technically be possible with the support of Russia and former Soviet
countries.

Mr Howard said respondents to the survey could have been misled by the question.

"I would imagine anyone, asked do you support Kyoto, takes that as a question do you
support worldwide attempts to control greenhouse gas emissions?" he told Melbourne radio
3AW.

"Anyone would say yes to that."

The poll specifically asked respondents if they supported ratifying the protocol.

But Mr Howard said he did not support a protocol which placed restrictions and liabilities
on Australia, but not on developing countries.

He also said Australia risked economic damage by ratifying the protocol without United
States support.

Senator Minchin said ratifying the treaty would cost thousands of jobs.

"If you told people that the cost to Australians of just going along with Kyoto as
it is, would be the equivalent of a very severe recession or several times the consequences
for Australia of a major drought, you would not get anything like that level of support
for ratification," he said in reference to the survey.

Greenpeace spokesman Gareth Walton said the cost of implementing the protocol was not
as great as not taking action on climate change.

"Reports have shown that the costs of not acting to tackle climate change will be as
great, if not greater, than the impact and cost of tackling climate change," he said.

A report showed if no action was taken, the cost of the impacts of climate change would
be $US300 billion ($A584 billion) a year by 2050.

"The Australian government is very clearly, and always has been, trying to undermine
the Kyoto Protocol," Mr Walton said.

"The Australian government, despite what it says, is actually not interested in taking
truly effective action to tackle climate change."

AAP eg/jas/sb

KEYWORD: KYOTO NIGHTLEAD

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.