The Garnaut Climate Change Review by Professor Ross Garnaut was commissioned by then Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, and by Australian State and Territory Governments, on 30 April 2007, so that Labor in Government would be ready to act as soon as possible. 

The Victorian State Labor Government provided the Secretariat to support the Review.

After his election in November 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed the participation of the Commonwealth Government in the Review.

The Review examined the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy, and recommended medium to long-term policies and policy frameworks to improve the prospects for sustainable prosperity.

The Review recommended that an Emissions Trading Scheme, with emissions permits being allocated by auction, should be the centrepiece of Australia's policies to implement emissions reductions targets. The Emissions Trading Scheme should be supported by major public funding for innovation in low emissions technologies, funded from the permit auction revenues. The Final Report proposed a principled formula for assistance to trade-exposed, emissions-intensive industries, within which assistance would be phased out automatically as other countries introduced emissions pricing.

The Garnaut Climate Change Review concluded that the costs of action are less than the costs of inaction.

In 2010 Professor Garnaut was commissioned to provide an update to the 2008 review. This was released in 2011.

Papers produced as part of the Garnaut Climate Change Review are available online at www.garnautreview.org.au. (Summary adapted from http://www.rossgarnaut.com.au/ClimateChange.html)

(Note: For the record, papers produced by the Shergold review established by John Howard are also available online.)