MIDDLETON: And the Prime Minister joins me here now in Copenhagen. Prime Minister, thanks for being here, I know it's been an exhausting few days.
PM: A bit like that.
MIDDLETON: Given the difficulty you had in reaching an agreement here over the past couple of weeks, and particularly the last few days, was this just too ambitious a deal to try and strike in the nick of time?
PM: Look, action on climate change is tough at home, and it's tough internationally. There's always a lot of resistance. The key thing, though, is to pull together the consensus necessary in the international community to get climate change action. Remember, for Australia, it's critical. We are among the hottest and driest continents on earth, and the impact of climate change is therefore felt first and hardest. It's in our national interest that we get strong, global agreement. This is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but, with 190 nations around the table, this is a solid, strong step forward.
MIDDLETON: Well it's not legally binding either. What do we need to do to get a legally binding treaty, and how can you have any confidence that you will get there next year?
PM: Well let's go to the two elements of it. For the first time, this Copenhagen Accord on climate change causes the countries of the world to agree that we need to keep temperature increases within two degrees Centigrade. Secondly, for the first time, you have the developed and the developing countries both responsible for taking action that will bring about that cooling over time to adhere to the two degrees Centigrade target. And thirdly, for the first time, we've got a national and international measurement system. Now the action will happen when each nation submits its action plan to the Copenhagen Accord through the period of implementation. So it's one strong step in climate change action- but of course, more needs to be done.
MIDDLETON: Prime Minister, thank you very much for joining us.
PM: Good to be with you.