It’s important to remember the National Apology didn’t come out of the blue. We had all seen the “Bringing Them Home Report” detailing the tragic stories of the Stolen Generations. This had led to the “Sorry Day” marches across the country where hundreds of thousands of Australians from all sides of politics said with a single voice it was time to say sorry. And as Leader of the Labor Party going into the 2007 election, I had said I would deliver a formal apology on behalf of the entire nation if I became Prime Minister. And that is what I did. For all of us.

As a former prime minister of Australia, I understand something of the political costs leaders must bear in aiming to reconcile the long-term interests of the planet with short-term national interests.

In the cynical world of politics it is important, just occasionally, to give credit where it is due. The commitments on carbon emissions announced on Wednesday by President Barack Obama of the US and President Xi Jinping of China, supported by the significant diplomacy of Secretary of State John Kerry, are both environmentally substantive and politically influential. Between them, these countries account for 44 per cent of global carbon emissions – a share that is still rising.