Marking two years since he said "NO" to taking action on climate change and swiped the Coalition leadership away from Malcolm Turnbull, the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, continued to beat his deceptive drum on carbon pricing this week.

Claim 1: "We are all conservationists now but we don't help the environment by imposing a unilateral carbon tax which will raise the costs of Australian businesses without significantly reducing global emissions in the absence of comparable schemes overseas." (Address to NSW Business Chamber, Sydney, 1 December 2011).

Fact 1: The carbon price will deliver Australia's emissions reduction target of at least 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 and by 80 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050. This will take over 17 billion tonnes of carbon pollution out of the atmosphere over that period, at least cost to the economy.

Claim 2: "It's going to be bad for jobs, it's going to be bad for investment and worst of all, it is going to be bad for the forgotten families of Australia, this carbon tax." (Doorstop, Brisbane, 30 November 2011).

Fact 2: Treasury modelling shows there will be 1.6 million extra jobs by 2020 with a carbon price and gross national income per person will increase by around $9,000 from today's level to 2020 and by more than $30,000 to 2050. The Government has consistently stated that every cent paid by the big polluters under the carbon pricing mechanism will be used to assist households, support jobs and to invest in clean energy and climate change initiatives. Far from being bad for investment, Treasury modelling also projects the carbon price will drive $100 billion of investment in the renewable energy sector by 2050.

Claim 3: "I mean, this is the thing that will haunt us forever if it isn't repealed and that's our great promise at the next election. We will repeal the toxic tax. If the toxic tax isn't repealed it's just going to go up and up and up." (Radio MTR interview, 30 November 2011).

Fact 3: Every living Liberal Leader has supported a price on carbon – including Tony Abbott himself. He has no intention of repealing this policy. He is only attempting to create business uncertainty in Australia because he is not interested in clean energy investment and jobs.

Claim 4: "Well the advantage of a carbon tax as opposed to an emissions trading scheme is that it's easier to remove a tax than it is to remove a trading scheme that involves quasi property rights." (ABC Lateline, 30 November 2011).

Fact 4: The Clean Energy Act 2011 allows for the trading and use of freely allocated permits and carbon farming credits from 1 July 2012. Section 103 makes clear that all carbon permits are personal property. From 1 July 2015 the carbon price will no longer be fixed and the emissions trading scheme will have a flexible price set by the market.

Claim 5: "It's absolutely obvious that the Chinese aren't going to have a carbon tax, the Indians aren't going to have a carbon tax and as President Obama made crystal clear just a couple of weeks ago in this country, the Americans are never going to have a carbon tax..." (Doorstop, Gibbens Industries, West Gosford NSW, 2 December 2011)

Fact 5: Last week China formally announced plans to introduce carbon trading pilot schemes in seven regions, covering a population of more than 200 million and a collective GDP larger than Australia's. China also intends to scale these up to a national approach by 2015. While in Australia in November, President Obama restated his commitment that the US will meet its commitments to reduce emissions by 17 per cent by 2020. California – the eighth largest economy in its own right – will commence a carbon trading scheme in 2012. Some 90 countries, representing 80 per cent of the world's emissions, have already pledged to take action on climate change. A carbon price is the most effective and least cost way for Australia to meet its bipartisan emission reduction objectives.

While the Opposition Leader continues his obsession with spreading misinformation in the public domain, I will correct the record in these Bulletins.

Media Contact: Mark Davis 0400 295 560; Gia Hayne 0412 060 406