Set a long-term aspirational goal for Australia to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions as our contribution to a global effort designed to avert dangerous climate impacts.

Set a short-term binding target for Australia in 2020 to facilitate a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy and as a milestone towards achieving the long-term goal.

Introduce a national market-based carbon pricing mechanism to deliver cost-effective emission reductions:

• Clearly signal a framework by 2007
• Design the mechanism to deliver comprehensive national coverage by 2013
• Link the mechanism to the binding 2020 target and the long-term aspirational goal
• Design the mechanism to allow for international linkages
• Until international linkages are established, employ transparent policies to maintain international competitiveness of trade-exposed sectors
• Re-state the ‘no disadvantage’ principle for early action to reduce emissions.

Make a public statement that government will not provide an indemnity against future carbon risk and investors
will be required to fully manage their own exposure.

Accelerate efforts to manage energy and reduce GHG emissions:

• Build on the National Framework for Energy
  Efficiency process by mandating best practice performance standards for buildings, vehicles, fuels and appliances
• Develop one clear framework for GHG emission and abatement reporting among all governments to better identify opportunity and risk
• Coordinate a national consumer awareness program on climate change in line with other successful campaigns such as water conservation.

Engage with business and the community to expand fiscal incentives to encourage deployment of emerging and breakthrough technologies for power generation and transport to build scale and reduce costs, such as tax credits, accelerated depreciation and programs like the Low Emission Technology Demonstration Fund.

Build modelling capacity in Australia sufficient to estimate the full economic cost of climate change and provide a cost-benefit analysis for future mitigation and adaptation actions.

Create a stronger science and technology culture through targeted school and university campaigns, and increased funding for centres of excellence to support the development and deployment of breakthrough technologies in Australia.

Develop, fund and implement a national strategy to build resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate impacts by
fully integrating adaptation into development and planning processes to address, for example, building codes, water resources, health responses, biodiversity, heritage areas and climate-dependent industries.