Greens leader Christine Milne, who is calling for the report to be rewritten by the independent parliamentary budget office, said on Thursday the government had "destroyed all credibility in the Intergenerational Report process by ignoring global warming". Change in the view of climate: Treasurer Joe Hockey delivers the 2015 Intergenerational Report. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Labor used question time on Thursday to repeatedly challenge Tony Abbott on whether the report was "another example of the Prime Minister's refusal to accept the science of climate change". The government hit back, saying the subject was "front and centre in chapter one as one of the most extended discussions of any topic in the report on the environment". Labor leader Bill Shorten pointed to assertions in the report that some economic effects of climate change "may be beneficial - where regions become warmer or wetter this may allow for increased agricultural output".

"Can the Prime Minister confirm that the government believes that climate change may be beneficial?" he said. Illustration: Cathy Wilcox Mr Abbott dismissed the opposition's attacks as "politicking", accusing Mr Shorten and environment spokesman Mark Butler of "disfiguring" debate. "Do justice to this report," Mr Abbott said. "We have a clear…we have a strong and effective policy to deal with climate change."

The Intergenerational Report grants 11 mentions to climate change, arguing "governments must continue to plan for the economic and environmental effects of climate change". While it says there may be economic benefits to climate change, it says there may also be falling crop yields and increasing damage to infrastructure from extreme weather. The report sets out the government's current policies – namely its $2.55 billion emissions reduction fund, which pays polluters to reduce emissions, and for projects to clean up air and water pollution. It says the government will meet Australia's Kyoto target to reduce emissions by 5 per cent on 2000 levels by 2020 and that Australia will join global efforts to set new post-2020 targets in the lead up to December's global climate change conference in Paris. But critics said on Thursday the report was a lurch backwards from 2010, with no projections for how the government will address climate change for the next 40 years, no assessment of the fiscal impact of policies such as Direct Action, and no estimation of what the economic and social costs of climate change will be. The report says there is "no one-size-fits all" approach to reduce emissions and in its assessment of international efforts to tackle climate change ignores countries that have moved toward carbon pricing or begun proposing tough post-2020 targets.

"When it comes to climate change, this Intergenerational Report barely addresses challenges for this generation let alone the next," Climate Institute chief executive John Connor said. "While we welcome that the report acknowledges the internationally agreed goal of avoiding 2 degrees Celsius warming above pre-industrial levels, we think that it is reckless that the report fails to acknowledge the economic challenges and opportunities for Australia in doing its fair share to help achieve that goal." The Australian Conservation Foundation said the report "pays lip service to the environment but it paints a future where Australia remains stuck with a fossil fuel-driven economy". Loading Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the report clearly identified climate change as a major challenge and outlined the government's policies to mitigate global warming, including $2 billion for the Great Barrier Reef and completing the $12 billion Murray Darling Basin plan.