Australia - Carbon Emissions Targets

The Rudd government announced its plan for carbon emissions targets in December 2008.

Mr Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol immediately after gaining government in late 2007. He appointed Professor Ross Garnaut to assess appropriate measures and costs for Australia to address carbon emissions.

That report was presented to the government in September 2008.
Read more about Professor Garnaut's report - click here.

Mr Rudd's proposal

Mr Rudd announced that the government will adopt a 5% cut in carbon emissions on 2000 levels by 2020. He said that if a global agreement were to be reached with major emitters signing up, then Australia should adopt a 15% cut in emissions.

A year ago, just prior to the Bali summit on climate change, Mr Rudd was said to support the proposal that Australia and other nations should support a 25 - 40 % cut in emissions by 2020. Source.

At least he has lowered his proposals - partly due to the opposition the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme has received. This opposition was heightened by the financial crisis in the last months of 2008.

Various commentators have noted that a 5% cut in emissions would in effect be much more - possibly a 20-30 30% cut in real terms - due to the increasing population and the expected 20% increase in emissions by 2020.

Compensation
One of the major factors of the proposal is that the scheme will charge for permits - but the big emitters on heavily-exposed industries that deal overseas (such as coal, ore, etc) would be compensated. Lower income families would also be compensated for the increase in energy costs. That means that smaller industry and the average person will bear the brunt of the costs of the scheme.
The government has said it plans to return most of the money raised through the scheme in compensation - so there will be nothing left to actually change habits or reduce carbon emissions.

Official Documents:

The Climate White paper
The Government released the Climate Change White Paper on 15th December 2008.
It is called "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme:Australia's Low Pollution Future"
Click here for full details and the White Paper.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and You at the Treasury website.

Introduction of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme - Video

Media articles/commentary:

Column - PM cuts truly, madly, deeply
Andrew Bolt - Herald Sun - Wednesday, December 17, 08
"THEY are wrong, both those spitting "sell-out" at Kevin Rudd and those trying to defend his mad emissions policy.
You are about to be hurt much, much more than either say.
What no one has pointed out is that the Rudd Government is imposing on Australia the deepest cuts on greenhouse gases of any country in the world, bar possibly Britain.
Ignore the headlines declaring "5 per cent!" Rudd is in fact forcing each of us to cut our gases by a third by 2020 to set an example to a world that refuses to follow. . ."

The ETS: Completely unnecessary
ABC - Unleashed
David Evans, 19 Dec 2008.
"Rudd has failed to see through the vested interests that promote anthropogenic global warming (AGW), the theory that human emissions of carbon cause global warming. Though masquerading as "science based", the promoters of AGW have a medieval outlook and are in fact anti-science. Meanwhile carbon is innocent, and the political class is plunging ahead with making us poorer because they do not understand what science really is or what the real science is. . . "

The toughest cuts of all
BLOG comments: Andrew Bolt - Tuesday, December 16, 08 (08:01 am)

"I'm told that there is still an Opposition in Federal Parliament. Can anyone point it out to me?:
MALCOLM Turnbull has left the door open to supporting the Government's modest 5 per cent target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020... Liberal strategists have confirmed to The Australian Online that if an independent white paper commissioned by the Coalition on the target finds the goal can be delivered without damage to the economy, it may support the new targets in the Senate.

Malcolm Turnbull often denied allegations that he'd at one stage sought to join Labor. He can deny it no longer.
Fact is that what Rudd has announced is far from being a "modest" target. Rudd is actually imposing the toughest cuts of any country in the world, bar only the possible exception of Britain.
The 5 per cent headline is meaningless, and ignores population growth - let alone the fact that we are already on track to increase emissions by nearly 20 per cent by 2020.
Bottom line: Rudd boasts that he is in fact imposing on each person emission cuts of 34 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 - the biggest cuts per capita of any country in the world, Britain possibly excepted. Think what it would involve in taxes, costs and fines to get you emitting a third less in just 12 years. . . ."

DAY MADE
Tim Blair - Monday, December 15, 08
"We're a happy bunch, us right-wing death beasts, always striving - as our quest demands - to bring forth peace and light. Yet recent years haven't been easy, what with one or two failed elections and the usual threats to contentment...
Then Kevin Rudd's climate reduction announcement was due. Taking the PM at his word, you can't blame the sensible for feeling apprehensive..."