India and China have been called to participate in adopting stringent measures to cut down emission of greenhouse gases, as the existing targets are not enough to control climate change.
According to an interim report on climate change to be released in Sydney on Thursday, without intervention before 2020, it would be impossible to avoid a high risk of dangerous climate change that was advancing more rapidly than previously thought.
According to Canberra's top adviser Ross Garnaut, there was a need to go 'considerably further' as part of a global agreement to cut greenhouse emissions with full participation by developing countries, to keep climate change at acceptable levels.
The report would recommend setting two levels of carbon reduction targets, one to be met as a national and regional initiative and a more stringent target that would be adopted in concert with developing economies such as India and China.
All the major reports of recent years, including the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel assessments and the Stern report, had used statistics that were already out of date, The Age quoted him as saying.
''The rate of change is at the bad end of what was identified as the range of possibilities,'' he added.
Moreover, there were signs that the capacity of the oceans and the atmosphere to absorb emissions would decrease, which means a greater proportion of emitted carbon dioxide will remain in the atmosphere in the coming years.
Scientists stated that they would not endorse particular temperature or carbon concentration targets until the final review was completed in September.
Australia was expected to do more than some other countries because its southern parts would be among the world's worst affected regions.
It should take a leadership role in the region by working on targets with near neighbours including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Professor Garnaut said.
