The Senate today passed a motion calling on the Government to model the cost of achieving greenhouse emissions cuts of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and present the results for the next sitting of the Senate.

The Australian Greens motion passed with the support of the Opposition, but opposed by the Government.

The Government must now ensure that this modelling is done or explain why the Senate should pass the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme when the Government refuses to do appropriate modelling.

"How extraordinary that the Opposition would join with the Greens in calling for modelling of truly effective targets, while the Government continues to prefer studied ignorance," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"There is very good evidence that moving for the strongest possible emissions cuts actually reduces the long-run costs to the economy because we learn faster and make fewer short-sighted investments.

"Why does the Government not even want to know what the economic costs of 40% cuts would be? What are they afraid of?

"With no chance the CPRS will pass the Senate this week, the Government must spend the winter working hard on solutions to the deadlock they created with their ill-thought-out plans.

"If the Government returns in August without having conducted this modelling, they will only raise more questions instead of providing a solution."

The motion reads:

That the Senate calls on the Government to task the Department of the Treasury with modelling the cost of achieving greenhouse gas emission cuts of 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and to present the information to the Senate by 11 August 2009.