The Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane, today dismissed Al Gore’s movie about climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, as “just entertainment”.

It is extremely arrogant and naive to dismiss An Inconvenient Truth as “just entertainment”.

An Inconvenient Truth documents the scientific consensus that climate change has led to a significant increase in both the duration and intensity of hurricanes, and a drop in rainfall in agricultural areas.

The science behind the movie is consistent with the Howard Government’s own Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Report.

The Minister should explain what was “entertaining” about Hurricane Katrina and other extreme weather events.

The inconvenient truth for John Howard is that he has isolated Australia from global action on climate change, increasing the risk of environmental and economic damage to Australia.

The Howard Government has independent reports and expert advice from the CSIRO stating that, if strong action is not taken, temperatures and sea levels will rise to dangerous levels.

John Howard knows climate change is a serious threat to Australia’s economy and environment, but he is ignoring the truth.

Climate change is cutting water supplies to our cities and agriculture, and Australia’s leading businesses are saying “climate change is a major business risk and we need to act now”.

The Report released by the Australian Business Round Table on Climate Change comprising Westpac, Origin, the Insurance Australia Group, BP, Visy & Swiss Re stated that early action to reduce carbon pollution would mean 250,000 more jobs will be created if we act early to address climate change, rather than if we delay.