Peter Ryan reported this story on Monday, June 29, 2015 08:05:00

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: What's being billed as an "unprecedented" alliance of business, union, environmental, investor and welfare groups has been formed to broker common ground on climate policy.



The highly unusual coalition - to be branded the Australian Climate Roundtable - comes as developed nations gear up for the Paris Climate Conference in December where leaders will be under pressure to update their strategies for dealing with climate change.



With more I'm joined by our business editor Peter Ryan.



Peter, this is an odd alliance of groups from opposite ends of politics. What do they hope to achieve?



PETER RYAN: Yes Michael, it is a pretty unusual mix. Members are from the big end of town like the Business Council, the Australian Industry Group, the Aluminium Council in an unlikely coalition.



They're teaming up with the likes of the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), ACOSS (Australian Council of Social Service), the Australian Conservation Council and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Australia.



Now the aim is to pressure the Government on its strategy to tackle climate change and how to limit temperature increases to less than two degrees ahead of the Paris conference in December when Australia's policy will be on the world stage.



One of the roundtable's chief architects, the AI Group's chief executive Innes Willox, told me there's no time left for delayed, unpredictable and piecemeal action



INNES WILLOX: What we're saying is in the lead-up to Paris and the aftermath we need to get some agreement so that we have policy stability.



What we've seen in the climate debate over the past decade are really wild swings in policy and in approach and in rhetoric and we just can't have that anymore.



This is a very vexed subject. It's been politically dynamite for a decade or so now so we're just trying to say as different groups come together, let's reach some agreements, let's have some understandings. And when we get to Paris, we can all look back on these principles and hold each other to these principles as well as our political leaders.



PETER RYAN: Australia's commitment to emissions reductions has suffered in recent years and Tony Abbott's attitude has also been criticised, so how much ground needs to be made up now?



INNES WILLOX: We don't want to get into the politics of it. Our government will take a position to Paris that it will reach. We've already seen quite a few developed economies put forward their positions. Our economy is a different make-up.



But through these principles I think all these different groups from environmental groups to senior business leaders have all sort of accepted that we need to get some commonality here.



We need to have stability around climate policy or else Australia will fall behind and will economically suffer and as a result of that then we will not be in a position to be competitive.



So let's just put the line under some very key points here, let's reach agreements, let's have understandings and formulate long term policy with those understandings very much front of mind.



PETER RYAN: And this is not just about getting the right outcomes for industry or business but you've also referred to vulnerable people and how they will suffer one way or another under climate change.



INNES WILLOX: Absolutely. And part of what we're saying here is that the most vulnerable members of our community do need to be protected. There was an understanding there and that was very much put forward by ACOSS and others as part of these discussions and accepted by everyone else.



This has got to be an entire community effort. Everyone will be impacted in some way by climate change.



But we need to take into account all parts of our society when we're making decisions and everyone has signed onto that principle and signed on to ways to ensure that our most vulnerable are protected.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: That's the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, Innes Willox.



And Peter, we are still waiting to see the Government's position on this ahead of the Paris conference. When can we expect to see that?



PETER RYAN: Michael, an announcement is expected some time in July but at the same time Mr Abbott and Environment Minister Greg Hunt are working to win over some party members who remain critical of setting hard targets on emissions.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: And that's our business editor Peter Ryan there.