Perth should become a global centre for carbon trading, through the development of a workable and incorrupt system, according to Shadow Environment Minister Steve Thomas
The full text of an announcement from Dr Thomas' office is pasted below
Shadow Environment and Planning Minister Steve Thomas has called for Australia to lead the climate change debate by becoming the third world centre for carbon trading.
Speaking today before the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia in Perth, Dr Thomas said neither of the two current international schemes worked, and the nation that developed the first workable and incorrupt system would become the world leader and global centre for carbon trading.
"The European Union carbon trading model has failed because it did not set a cap on emissions and has become corrupt," Dr Thomas said.
"The United States' model, developing in Chicago, shows more promise but there will be a third centre based in the Asian and Australian region and Australia must be ahead of the game to become the base of carbon trade for our region."
Dr Thomas said if carbon trading was to have any real impact on climate change, it must be a global program in which every nation on the planet contributed.
"We desperately need leadership at a state and federal level to put us at the forefront of this important environmental debate," he said.
"Perth is geographically central to the Asian region and we should be putting forward our credentials to be the centre of carbon trading for our region.
"If Sydney was thinking ahead they would be doing the same.
"Western Australia has some significant advantages in the carbon trading area.
"We have enormous potential in both biosequestration and geosequestration, which must both play central themes in any trading mechanism."
