The Wire

Businesses will have to find a way to respond to the ravages of climate change even if the Federal Australian Government continues to snub global initiatives aimed at reducing green house gases. According to a climate change risk management consultant, the Stern report unveiled overnight in the United Kingdom will force a change in the way that global business is conducted, with corporations set to be taxed according to the quantity of carbon emissions they send into the atmosphere. While the Australian government has admitted that climate change is occurring it maintains that signing the Kyoto protocol will not solve the problem, because developing nations like China and India are not coming on board. But critics argue that with or without Kyoto, the world is moving towards a carbon-constrained economy, and Australia is being left behind. Dr Karl Mallon, from the Climate Risk Institute, a firm that advises companies on climate change risks spoke to The Wire along with Corin Millais, head of the Climate Institute.