R.K. Pachauri, Chair of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says he hopes that other developed countries are not as vulnerable as Australia to business pressures and lobbies working against stiff carbon emissions targets. Read more here.
Carbon Trading
Changes Announced to Australia’s Proposed Emissions Trading Scheme
SINCE Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister of Australia we have signed Kyoto and there has been a commitment to an Emissions Trading Scheme – what his government calls a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
It was to start next year, but according to a surprise announcement yesterday, the scheme has been delayed a year.
In announcing the delay the Prime Minister described it all as “hard” and “difficult” and “complex” policy made harder, more difficult and more complex as a consequence of the global financial crisis.
I am not sure the financial crisis makes this obviously complex financial intervention any more complex – but certainly less politically palatable.
When well known geologist and climate skeptic, Bob Carter, reported on his presentation to a parliamentary committee considering the proposed legislation just two weeks ago he wrote:
“The committee mostly needs help with fashioning politically feasible solutions to the incredible mess that they now find themselves in.”
Yesterday’s announcement that the scheme will now be delayed, and significantly changed with a fixed price period and an increasing in the target for emissions reduction to 25 percent by 2020, suggests the government is grappling with the issue of what Professor Carter described as fashioning feasible solutions.
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Kyoto Not Working for the EU
The EU’s emissions trading scheme has so far failed to deliver any reductions in CO2 emissions while at the same time strangling energy-efficiency investment in the electricity sector. Read more here.
On a Tortuous Political Problem: Bob Carter
LAST Wednesday, I had the privilege of appearing in front of the Australian Senate Select Committee on Climate Policy.
My main advice to the committee was that making a decision regarding an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) must be considered as a cost:benefit matter.
According to the only estimates that I could find, after ramp-up the cost of the Rudd ETS scheme is going to be about an additional $3,500 tax per year per Australian family. On the other side, the benefit will be a theoretical (i.e. modelled) reduction in temperature of less than 1/1000 deg. C.
I asked the committee if they had such figures in front of them (they didn’t), and expressed willingness to drop my estimates in favour of better-founded ones if the committee could provide them. Not a finger, or tongue, stirred!
Beyond recommending that a proper cost:benefit analysis should apply, I argued also for the implementation of a (Plan B) policy of adaptation to climate change in place of the intended (Plan A) emissions trading system. This follows the policy that I espoused in a recent talk at the New York Heartland-2 Climate Conference, a written version of which has been published in the April edition of Quadrant.
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Obama Begins Regulation of Carbon Dioxide
THE US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday issued its much anticipated ‘Endangerment Finding’ which makes six gases — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride — officially recognised as a danger to the public.
Many see this as the first formal action by the Obama administration toward the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions as part of his administrations commitment to fighting global warming.
The announcement is likely to now bring pressure on the US Congress to back emissions trading legislation which would require polluters to get permits for emissions, rather than letting the EPA set the rules.
“There is no longer a question of if or even when the U.S. will act on global warming: We are doing so now,” said a spokesperson for the Sierra Club.
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Cap n Trade Proposal Under Press
Australian Government’s own Climate Change Advisor suggests “Might be best to dump ETS”, Read more here.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.