Rudd standing by Copenhagen outcome

(AAP) Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has returned from Copenhagen strongly defending the outcomes of the heavily criticised climate change summit.

With many commentators saying the summit was largely a failure, the prime minister
declared three breakthroughs had been achieved during negotiations.
Mr Rudd said the agreement to hold warming to two degrees, the linking of developed
and developing countries in agreement to cut emissions and the decision to develop
an international monitor of all nations were good developments.
The prime minister was quick to declare the summit outcome did not change the
domestic response to the challenge.
"Penny Wong has been very clear cut about the government's position, which has not
changed," he said.
"Our targets - five, 15, 25 (per cent reductions in carbon emissions) - are
identical with the Liberal Party. What is different between us and the Liberal Party
is that we have put forward a concrete policy by which you get there - they have
not."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has sent a letter to Mr Rudd demanding he do yet more
modelling on the impact of an emissions trading scheme.
"All of the previous modelling, much of which is 15 months out of date anyway, was
based on the assumption that other countries would have an emissions trading scheme
or something like it," Mr Abbott told reporters in the Blue Mountains.
"After Copenhagen we know that this is not the case."
Outside the debate between the two leaders, there was continued lobbying from both
business and green groups.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chastised the government's plan to
introduce for a third time its draft laws for an emissions trading scheme.
Chamber chief executive Peter Anderson says Australia must wait until the US takes
action.
"Until we see that there is going to be a realistic market for the global trading of
carbon then it is a mistake for Australia to lock its position in," Mr Anderson told
reporters in Canberra.
Amid the debate on Labor's promise to try a third time to make its emissions trading
scheme law was the fourth offer from the Australian Greens to negotiate with Mr Rudd
on the plan.
"The government's only choice for meeting Copenhagen's goal of less than two degrees
celsius warming is to talk to the Greens and we propose good faith negotiations for
the new year," Greens leader Bob Brown said in a statement.
The ETS would appear to be facing a third defeat unless Labor does negotiate with
the Greens.
"We are willing to negotiate the government's entire emissions trading scheme
package, including the targets, to arrive at an outcome that will satisfy the
Copenhagen commitments," Senator Brown wrote.