Julia Gillard's full climate change policy speech

Climate change is a pivotal issue for Australia. It is fundamental to the question I have put to our people. The question about whether our country moves forward or back. A lot of people have been anticipating this day. I thank them for their patience.

Today I will set out my approach to the challenges of responding to climate change and reducing pollution.

I will do that by explaining my beliefs and my commitments and by setting out the steps that the Labour Government will take if it is re-elected.

My starting point is that climate change is real and it is caused to a significant extent by human activity.

That human activity is an essential part of economic development. It has brought prosperity and security to generations of people in our country. But we also know now that it has other consequences.

As our economy has grown over the last century, much of that growth has relied on the use of high-polluting energy sources.

We know now that if we continue to rely only on those sources, the problems they cause will grow. The consequences of inaction are ultimately threatening for our planet. We also know that we can do something about it.

And so I adopt this perspective. That we must show leadership and chart the way forward. That the price of inaction is too high a price for our country to pay. The price of inaction is a price ultimately that our country will not be able to afford.

Because the price of inaction is price rises, job losses and innovations lost. Conversely, step-by-step action, deliberate and considered steps, brings opportunities that could make our country even greater. A confident Australia can meet this challenge and emerge even stronger.

Now, for those who dispute the science, I respect your views and your participation in the debate. I also respectfully disagree. Global temperatures are rising. 2009 has been ranked the fifth warmest year on record globally and finished off the hottest decade in recorded history.

The temperatures are largely driven by pollution created by carbon emissions. Climate change has a particular environmental and economic impact on Australia. 2009 was the second hottest year in Australia and ended our hottest decade.

Each decade since the 1940s has been warmer than the last. With climate change, the number of droughts could increase by up to 40 per cent in eastern Australia, and up to 80 per cent in south-western Australia within the next six decades.

Without action to reduce our pollution, irrigated agricultural production in the Murray-Darling Basin is projected to fall by over 90 per cent by 2100. About 85 per cent of Australians live in coastal regions.

Just under 250,000 residential buildings, worth up to $63bn, will be at risk from sea inundation if the sea-level were to rise by 1.1 metres. Coastal industries, such as the tourism industry, will also face increasing challenges with climate change.

These are just a few examples of the risks Australia faces if climate change is not addressed.