[Greens-Media] Australian and Canadian Greens unite to condemn polluters' proliferation pact

[Hollo, Tim (Sen C. Milne)]

Australian and Canadian Greens unite to condemn polluters' proliferation
pact 

Thursday, 7 June 2007  Australian and Canadian Greens united today to
call on both countries to immediately recommit to the UN climate
negotiation process which ensures decisive action by rich nations and
encourages action from developing countries.

Australian Greens Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne,
said "Following President Bush's example, Prime Ministers Howard and
Harper are working to undermine the multilateral approach to tackling
climate change embodied in the Kyoto Protocol. This 'flexible' approach
to climate change will stretch our planet's climate to breaking point.

"Mr Howard's claim that the existing UN climate convention cannot
address the concerns of developing nations while also reducing emissions
is wrong. It is a deliberate attempt to evade binding commitments for
rich nations, using our developing country neighbours as an excuse.

"A climate change strategy which fails to set binding targets for
limiting emissions flies in the face of the science. Climate change
policy must be guided by a decision on how much climate change we can
bear and what science tells us we must do to avoid breaching that
threshold. That is how the Greens set our target to reduce emissions to
30% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050 in order to minimise the
risk of warming of more than 2C.

"Mr Howard has again outlined an approach to climate change which aims
to protect the profits of the big polluters, not to protect Australians
from runaway climate change."

Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, said "Prime Minister
Harper has joined with PM John Howard to aid and abet the Bush
Administration's irresponsible climate destruction policy. Canadians and
Australians deserve better."

Adriane Carr, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada said "In
allowing our greenhouse gas emissions to rise to 33 percent above our
Kyoto target, Canada has become part of the global problem rather than
the solution. The Green Party of Canada is pushing for immediate actions
to bring down our emissions, meet our Kyoto targets, and prevent the
rise in global temperatures that will tip our planet into irreversible
climate catastrophe."

For Senator Milne, contact Tim Hollo in Canberra on 0437 587 562
For Elizabeth May, contact Camille Labchuk in Toronto on + 1 613 882
4761
For Adriane Carr, contact Amanda Brown in Vancouver on + 1 778 865 8858

Tim Hollo
Media and Communications Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
Phone: + 61 (0) 2 6277 3063
Mobile: + 61 (0) 437 587 562
Email: tim.hollo at aph.gov.au
Skype: timhollo
Website: www.christinemilne.org.au