SYDNEY, Nov 5, 2006 -- UPI

 

Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell says he is against the Kyoto Protocol because it is not environmentally effective.

The Australian government, like the United States, has refused to ratify the Kyoto agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because it would harm the national economy.

Campbell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., however, that Australia was committed to achieving a target of 108 percent of its 1990 emissions by 2012. By instituting political measures to alleviate climate change, the government could "decouple" economic activity from greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

The government's environmental policies have been under fire for the past week following the release in Britain of the high-powered Stern Report into global warming.

A public opinion poll found 91 percent of Australians wanted a shift from reliance on coal-fired power to renewable energy.

Thousands of Australians marched through the streets of major cities Saturday in support of efforts to reverse global warming.

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