Victorian Premier John Brumby has shown strong state and national leadership in announcing his intention to legislate for an emissions reduction target of -20% by 2020 says Dr Peter Christoff.
" While weaker than the science requires, in the absence of a price on carbon, this is an effective next step in positioning Victoria for a low carbon future," he says.
"Brumby's confidence that Victoria - with a quarter of Australia's economic activity - is capable of reaching at least this goal is proof that we collectively can do better the poor -5% target to which Australia is currently committed nationally. It offers a much needed challenge to national leaders to raise the bar for climate action rather than continuing to lower it. "
Dr Peter Christoff
Department of Resource Management and Geography
The Melbourne Graduate School of Land and Environment