This includes action in a number of areas:

1. Australia must reduce its greenhouse emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2020

At the 2007 United Nations conference in Bali, developed countries agreed to reduce emissions by 25-40% from 1990 levels by the year 2020. Australia’s target must be at the upper end of this range for the following reasons:

• Australia is one of the highest per capita emitters in the world and, in the initial Kyoto round, negotiated one of the weakest targets of all nations. We have a global responsibility to take the lead in the second round of emissions cuts.
• By adopting a strong domestic target, Australia will be more effective as a global advocate for other nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Professor Ross Garnaut has recognised that Australia is the most vulnerable of all the developed countries when it comes to climate impacts. We have a major stake in limiting climate change as much as possible.
• Australia has a lot to gain from a 40% reduction by 2020. By doing our bit to avoid dangerous climate change, we stand to generate tens of thousands of jobs and attract billions of dollars in investment in clean energy solutions such as renewable energy and energy efficiency.
• Reducing emissions by 40% by 2020 will keep us on track to meet longer-term targets demanded by the science and recognised by Australian economist Ross Garnaut in his recent Interim Report.

2. To avoid dangerous climate change, we must move beyond coal

New coal plants are planned or proposed in a number of states. If they are approved and built, they will increase Australia’s greenhouse emissions by millions of tonnes at a time when emissions should be rapidly decreasing.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will not be commercially available until at least 2020, if at all. By recognising that CCS can’t deliver in time, the coal industry has virtually taken the concept off the table.

But it's not too late to cut spiralling emissions.

To achieve the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the federal government must rule out new coal plants and begin a phase-out plan for existing ones, starting with the oldest and dirtiest.  Adding new coal-fired electricity generation capacity will make it virtually impossible to reduce CO2 emissions to safe levels.

3. We must seize our opportunity to shift to clean energy

Australia has world-class renewable energy resources: some of the best wind sites in the world, abundant solar energy and a huge potential geothermal resource. There are valuable opportunities for new industries developing in the clean energy sector.

However, as long as governments favour the polluting fossil fuel industry, renewable energy will struggle to compete in Australian and international energy markets.

The new Rudd government has committed to taking action on climate change. The government’s first budget in May 2008 will be a major test of this commitment, where they have an opportunity to break with the Howard legacy of climate denial and reallocate taxpayers’ money away from fossil fuel subsidies and towards supporting a thriving renewable energy industry in Australia.

4. We need to become energy smart

Energy efficiency is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to cut greenhouse pollution. Australia’s energy efficiency performance is well below most other industrialised countries. That means we have many opportunities to introduce measures that will reduce emissions and save money. To make significant improvements in energy efficiency, we need a policy focus on household building standards, commercial building standards, industrial operations, transport and investing in a smart energy future.

5. We need an emissions trading scheme that delivers significant emission reductions

The Australian government has committed to introducing an Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS). The main test for this scheme is that it reduces emissions in line with a 40% national reduction in 1990 levels by 2020. If it doesn’t, it fails. The key features of a successful ETS are that 100% of permits are auctioned at the beginning of the scheme and that the price of permits is high enough to push down emissions.

However, the market alone cannot deliver the necessary emissions reductions in the critical next few years. To be successful, the ETS will require complementary government programs and regulations such as MRET and energy efficiency regulations.

6. We must assist coal-reliant communities and low-income households in the shift to renewable energy

A just transition is a process to protect the wellbeing of vulnerable coalmining communities as they make the necessary shift to clean and sustainable energy.

A just transition to renewable energy is needed to drive investment from coal to creating new secure, well-paid jobs in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other industries, particularly targeting communities such as the Hunter, Latrobe Valley, and central Queensland. Shifting investment towards energy efficiency and renewable energy industries would revitalise Australian manufacturing industry and create many more new jobs than in current fossil fuel industries per dollar invested.

Installation of solar hot water systems and insulation in households and workplaces would cut carbon emissions, create jobs and reduce energy bills, and particularly assist low-income households.

Read our factsheet: A way forward for coal communities

7. We must address forest destruction with the same urgency as reducing fossil fuel consumption, to halt global deforestation within 10 years.

Cutting down forests causes greenhouse emissions. To prevent dangerous climate change, we must address emissions from forest destruction as well as fossil fuels. Reducing deforestation emissions must be additional to deeper cuts in greenhouse reduction targets, and not an excuse for rich countries to do nothing at home.

Greenpeace calls on the government to:

• set a national target of reducing emissions by at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2020;
• place a moratorium on new coal-fired power stations and develop a plan to phase-out existing plants;
• massively invest in the deployment of renewable energy, using mechanisms such as MRET and solar feed-in tariffs to drive investment;
• abolish the $308 million of our taxes given to coal companies each year to pay for their diesel and redirect this money to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency;
• launch a parliamentary inquiry to expose the full extent of taxpayer handouts to fossil fuels;
• strongly regulate for energy efficiency measures in household and commercial building standards, industrial operations and transport;
• establish, in conjunction with specific programs and regulations, an emissions trading scheme that delivers a decrease of our emissions in order to achieve the national target;
• invest in transitional arrangements for coal dependent communities that might be affected by the shift to a renewable energy economy;
• continue to assist Asia Pacific neighbours to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in a measurable, reportable, verifiable way that provides tangible and prioritised incentives for biodiversity conservation consistent with international conventions and respecting the rights of indigenous and forest communities.