Earth Equity News

Rudd Warns Business Community: 'We Are Committed to Taking Tough... Action'. AP (Australia), August 25, 2008. "[In responding to the Business Council of Australia's research demonstrating that emissions trading would prove fatal to a third of Australian businesses,] Prime Minister Kevin Rudd... warned [that] his government's commitment to tackling climate change will come at a cost... The Council issued a list of demands... including holding off on emissions trading until international agreements are forged... 'We, as a government, are committed to taking tough decisions and tough action for the economy's long-term interest and also for the environment's long-term interest,' [Rudd] told ABC Radio... 'Across Australia what people are saying is this: We have wasted enough time, it's time to act,' he said. '[And] if we fail to act, the economic cost to Australia will be huge.'"