INDUSTRY and Innovation Minister Kim Carr says the nation can spend its way out of climate change challenges, saying that technological solutions can be found for problems created by technology.

In a wide ranging speech on the government’s response to climate change, Senator Carr put his faith in the ability of mankind to think its way out of current problems.

And that means heavy investment in research, development and commercialisation of low-emissions technology. And exporting those technologies.

“Professor Ross Garnaut argues that science and research can give us greenhouse-friendly technologies in the short term, reduced mitigation costs over time, and ultimately a lower carbon price,” Senator Carr said.

“He suggests that Australia should be spending at least $3billion a year on researching, developing and commercialising low-emission technologies,” he said.

“It is hard to calculate exactly how much of the $6.37 billion the Government has budgeted for science and innovation this year will be used for these purposes, but it is a lot.”

Actually, even taking into account multi-year budget programs like the Climate Ready scheme ($75 million), the Energy Innovation Fund ($150 million), the Renewable Energy Fund ($500million), the National Clean Coal Fund ($500 million) and Australia's Farming Future ($130 million), it is surprisingly little.

And no mention of the what contribution the ICT industry might make in this R&D effort.

It is a pity. Information and communications technology is the platform to perform the basics. Like measuring, monitoring, accounting and auditing emissions levels – the critical numbers that will allow both a carbon trading scheme to operate, but also to define the yardsticks that will allow us to strive to meet our climate change goals.

S2 Intelligence principal Bruce McCabe says Australian firms will spend US$6.5 billion on this new generation of measurement and monitoring instrumentation between now and 2015.

And the global market for such devices is expected to be worth US$595 billion over this period. This is an enormous opportunity for the local ICT market.

This Government has shown a willingness to get out in front of global contemporaries on reducing the nation’s emissions footprint. And it has shown a willingness to support the biggest polluters through the process to ensure a soft landing for the economy.

But it has been strangely silent – ambivalent even – on the opportunities that getting in front of the market might present to our innovators and entrepreneurs in the development of test, measurement, and monitoring solutions for global markets.