What Greenpeace, FoE and TWS make of Garnaut's final report

Australia’s three largest environmental groups have offered a mixed reaction to the findings of the Garnaut Report.

The final report – which was released yesterday – underlines the importance of responding to climate change, but is being criticised for aiming too low, with a reduction to 550 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

This represents a reduction of emissions of ten percent by 2020, based on the 2000 level.

Friends of the Earth had called for a reduction of between 300-325ppm in their submission to the Garnaut report.

"A target of 550 ppm of carbon dioxide is a recipe for disaster and even the lower target of 450 ppm will mean we will face runaway climate change,” a Friends of the Earth statement said.

"The Arctic sea ice and Himalaya glaciers are already disappearing and the permafrost bomb is looming. We need much deeper cuts. "

The Report is being seen by many as an exercise in politics rather than science or economics, leaving plenty of room for governments to interpret or adapt its recommendations.

The Wilderness Society has also said the targets are too low, while highlighting the role our forests – a natural means for carbon capture and storage – play in mitigating the risks of climate change.

Australia’s native forests, like those currently under threat of logging in Tasmania, are capable of offsetting as much as 25% of our carbon emissions, based on 2005 levels.

“The Rudd Government has no excuse to allow destruction of Australia’s native forests to continue,” the Wilderness Society’s Tasmanian Campaign Manager Geoff Law said.

“Australia can massively reduce its damaging greenhouse-gas emissions if we stop logging immediately in the majority of our native forests.

“A transition to Australia’s existing stands of fast-growing plantations should be implemented for the timber industry.”

But the biggest problem lies with Australia’s highly profitable and highly polluting coal industry.

Greenpeace has criticised the proposed compensation for the coal industry offered under the Rudd Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme or ETS.

The Garnaut Report recommends a one billion dollar fund to facilitate a transition to a low-emissions coal industry, according to a report on Crikey.com.

Rio Tinto and NRG, owners of the Gladstone coal-fired power station, are set to receive compensation of $70.8 million under the proposed ETS, while NSW’s state-owned Macquarie Generation is set to receive $208 million in compensation.

Greenpeace campaigner Trish Harrup said community members and unions working in the coal industry don’t want to see a blank checque offered to the industry, but investment and job creation in the renewable energy sector.