E&OE….
Topics: World Parks Congress, Promise of Sydney
JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE:
Great Congress, really. More than 6,000 people from all over the world, 170 countries as I understand. Ministers, Presidents of countries, NGO leaders, Indigenous leaders, lots of young people.
So the energy in that room and all through during these eight days has been amazing. There’s commitment to take the services that we get from nature seriously for the benefit of humanity and for the benefit of the planet for future generations.
JOURNALIST:
What is the Promise of Sydney?
JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE:
The Promise of Sydney is, first of all, a visionary statement, said much more elegantly than I’ve just said to you, about why nature is important. It talks about the climate issue which is, of course, something that perhaps is more in the headlines and how nature and healthy ecosystems can help contribute to both the adaptation challenge and the mitigation.
Think about all the carbon that’s stored and captured in protected areas for example. And then the Promise of Sydney which was not a negotiated text, it really has been discussed and contributed to. It’s a Promise of Sydney that consists of a large number of commitments received from Government, like your Government, from many parts of the world, from NGO’s, from individuals.
We have nearly a hundred commitments, promises about what people, governments, or organisations are actually going to do. This is quite unusual. This is going to be a living document. It will be on our website and we’ll be casting a friendly, firm eye to make sure that these promises are actually not just empty promises, but real commitments.
JOURNALIST:
And how can you ensure that that happens?
JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE:
We won’t let people come here to Sydney in the public eye and say things that they are not going to do. So we will be in a very friendly way reminding those who’ve made the promises – remember what you’ve said. We’ll be on the case.
JOURNALIST:
There has been some criticism levelled against Australia in the last week from some major world leaders in terms of our commitment to climate change. Have you been as equally disappointed?
JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE:
You know this was not a conference about Australia, I have to say to you and I must say that I haven’t even had time to watch the news so I haven’t been equally disappointed, I have been very impressed by the commitments that I’ve heard from Australia.
And I have several passports and almost all of those governments are criticised too, where none of us is doing enough. But I think this conference has shown that we have found a common space – and that’s nature.
GREG HUNT:
I might just say that we welcomed on day one the commitment of the United States and China at the Opening Congress. I don’t think it’s correct that there’s been direct criticism of Australia.
I think what you’ll find is that there’s a general view that the world can and should do more and we’ve only just passed as the last act of our Australian Parliament a $2.5 billion climate fund to reduce emissions in Australia and I think we should be proud of that.
JOURNALIST:
I think the words that the US President used were “stepping up”. You don’t consider that criticism?
GREG HUNT:
No, not at all. I think that the point is we have just stepped up with a $2.5 billion fund to reduce emissions through supporting Indigenous land management, through supporting energy efficiency, through supporting the cleaning up of our coal-fired power stations.
JOURNALIST:
The German Chancellor, just a few nights ago, called on Australia to reveal its plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, pressed Australia to reveal its post-2020 goal by the first quarter of 2015 at the very latest. This is putting added pressure on Australia, surely?
GREG HUNT:
Well no, our timeframe has always been to address this in the lead-up to Paris next year, that’s what we’ve reaffirmed on numerous occasions. Let’s remember this – of all of the countries in the world, Australia is one of the few to have not just reached, but significantly beaten our first Kyoto period goals. We had achieved our goals and then we surpassed them by 131 million tonnes over the five years of the first Kyoto period.
I think that that’s an outstanding achievement and this Congress was also about commitments in terms of protecting rainforests and reducing emissions and protecting biodiversity. It was also about commitments in terms of the Coral Triangle and protecting the great collective oceans and it was about commitments following on from just yesterday, in terms of Australia and China protecting the polar regions of the world.
It’s been a pretty good outcome, an extraordinary contribution and Australia hasn’t just played its part, we have been one of the leading nations and I want to congratulate Rob Stokes and Julia on an outstanding Congress.
JOURNALIST:
There has been direct criticism levelled at the Australian Government for not stepping up from the Belize Environment Minister, who I’ve just spoken to, who says Australia, as the host nation, should be stepping up its commitment on climate change, particularly for developing nations such as it.
GREG HUNT:
Well we have just passed a $2.5 billion fund. For the United States, that would be the equivalent of a $25 billion fund given the size of their economy. It’s one of the largest funds in the world. On a per capita basis it’s certainly is something of outstanding size.
Let’s keep in mind that Australia didn’t just achieve our targets, we beat our targets. We haven’t just put in place an Emissions Reduction Fund, we have just passed a $2.5 billion fund which in US equivalent on a per capita basis would be a US$25 billion fund. We should be proud of what we’re doing.
JOURNALIST:
Environment Minister, if I could ask you as well, in terms of marine protection, there was a plenary session talking about marine protection. One of the targets it set was 30% of marine protection by the year 2030.
Now I know you’ll say Australia is already meeting its targets, but with the current marine sanctuary suspension in place, observers say it’s only 10% that we’re actually currently meeting.
GREG HUNT:
Well, look the presumption is just flat, plain wrong. There is 36% of Australia in marine park protected areas. There is no suspension. All of those protected areas remain in place. What we’re doing is in some cases reviewing management plans.
Our position is absolutely clear – we have achieved the 17% Aichi goals for our terrestrial parks. We have more than tripled the current IUCN goal of 10% of marine protected areas and indeed we’ve surpassed the future goal on a very significant basis.
JOURNALIST:
I should say, it’s not my presumption. It’s conservation groups like PEW’s assessment that it only sits at around 10%, so are you saying that that’s plainly incorrect?
GREG HUNT:
Well it is false.
JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE:
Can I add something? The international community, including Australia, decided in 2010 to set goals for 2020 in terms of protected areas, marine and terrestrial. And we’re not yet there. So globally, we have just – we are about 13% terrestrial and we want to get to 17% and the marine area is only 3.5%.
So I don’t know the details about Australia, but what I have heard is that actually Australia has already surpassed those. We need to think globally. We need to really push the world and I believe this Congress has helped to really reach those goals and in my view, go beyond them.
JOURNALIST:
What happens if those targets aren’t met by 2030? What’s going to happen to the world’s oceans?
JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE:
You know, right now it’s 2014, I’m looking at the glass half full. I think it is going to happen, but let’s send positive messages that it is doable. And there are countries such as Australia around the world that are showing leadership in terms of numbers of the protection.
So I think they will be met and if they’re not met then we should all march on the streets. But let it – we still have six years, or five and a half years, and we’re well on the way and I really think that the Congress has helped.
JOURNALIST:
Minister, what’s your Promise for Sydney?
GREG HUNT:
Well our promise was very clear. That firstly, we are putting in place 1,000 Indigenous ranger places through the Green Army programme over the next five years. We are achieving, through the Threatened Species Commissioner, a model defined by the IUCN as a world-leading model. We are committing to achieving a Rainforest Recovery Plan for the Asia Pacific, which did not exist a week ago.
We’re contributing to the Coral Triangle Initiative and then we’re taking three great global initiatives. One – protection of the polar regions through the agreement for peaceful and scientific cooperation in Antarctica with China.
Two – we will help lead a global oceans agreement through the United Nations and three – we will help support and lead the push for a wildlife trafficking resolution through the UN General Assembly. But at the end of the day, it’s to do all we can at home and abroad to protect the great spaces. Alright.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask you Minister…
GREG HUNT:
Last question then, I apologise.
JOURNALIST:
Is it right that the Queensland State Government is providing money to a coal company to develop the Galilee basin, in terms of the infrastructure? Is that not corporate welfare?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I’ll let them speak for themselves.
JOURNALIST:
What about your position?
GREG HUNT:
Well, look I will let them speak for themselves. Okay.
JOURNALIST:
What other support and commitment can you give to Indigenous people that you will work with them and also help to, you know, achieve the objectives and the Promise to Sydney?
GREG HUNT:
Sure. We’re working with people such as Melissa George and Duane Fraser. We’ve just appointed Melissa and the Indigenous Advisory Committee to help bring together a national network of Indigenous land and sea leaders.
We’re supporting the Indigenous Rangers programme, we’re supporting junior, or emerging, Indigenous Rangers through the Green Army programme, we’re supporting the Indigenous Protected Areas programme and we went out of our way to work with the IUCN to make sure that Australia’s Indigenous leaders rightly had a starring voice in today’s proceedings and I really want to thank Julia for her support for Australia’s traditional owners, but also for her leadership and I think on that, I want to thank everybody and it’s time to move.
Thank you very much.
(ENDS)