On April 28, the Greens on Campus and the Law Students Society hosted a forum on the University of Melbourne with Greens Senator Bob Brown.
About 200 students heard Brown talk about the threat of climate change and the Australian government's inadequate response.
Brown explained how the rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic could generate a sea-level rise of more than one metre. This "would knock out most of the people of Bangladesh", he said.
He said the Rudd government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was inadequate. He explained the Greens position of an emission cut target of 40% by 2020.
In particular, Brown took issue with the government's failure to acknowledge carbon emissions from forestry. He said Australia could immediately cut CO2 levels by 17% if it stopped logging and burning forests.
Asked about the Greens policy on the CPRS, Brown said the Greens wouldn't reject the scheme outright, but instead would try to amend the legislation to increase significantly the emissions cut target.
Brown said the Copenhagen negotiations hinged around "emissions trading schemes". He said if Australia didn't have one it would make it harder to achieve an international agreement.