World Environment Day is a day to reflect on the enormous environmental challenges facing Australia.

It’s a day for all Australians to commit themselves to creating a healthier environment for future generations.

World Environment Day is a day for the Howard Government to commit to national leadership on the environment.

There is no greater environmental challenge than climate change. As Al Gore says in his climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth, “we have entered a period of consequences”.

By failing to take action on climate change, the Howard Government has mortgaged Australia’s future. Our children and grandchildren will be left with a hefty bill.

The consequences of climate change are very real – more severe weather, reduced rainfall, extended droughts and the loss of our great natural icons, the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu.

The Howard Government has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol or take serious action to protect Australia from dangerous climate change. The Australian Greenhouse Office has reported that excluding land use changes, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by a disastrous 25.1% between 1990 and 2004.

We can all take action to reduce our environmental footprint. We can sign up to green power, buy water efficient products, use public transport and stop using plastic bags.

On the United Nations World Environment Day, we should also demand the Howard Government ratify the Kyoto Protocol and commit to significant cuts in Australia’s greenhouse pollution.