The ALP's announcement of key details of its climate policy on Monday was quickly overshadowed by the federal budget but it could prove to be a more important document in the long-term if there is a change of government at the federal election.
The policy is complex and, unfortunately, the political debate on the details has been poor. Prime Minister Scott Morrison chose to respond to a question about climate policy in Parliament on Wednesday with a dad-joke impersonation of the slapstick character Borat from a 2006 movie.
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Bill Shorten's plan includes international carbon permits. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
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The government's failure to engage intellectually is giving the ALP too easy a ride. There are serious questions to be answered.
The
ALP must show it has a practical plan which will achieve its promise to
cut emissions by 2030 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels while at the
same time keeping costs to a minimum.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has been
light on detail but this week did clear up a few things. First, he has
confirmed that if elected he will not seek to use so-called 'carry-over
credits' to meet Australia's targets under the Paris climate treaty.
Because Australia cut emissions by more than it pledged under the Kyoto
treaty for the period 2005 to 2020, it could have tried to carry that
over as a credit for the new deal for 2020 to 2030.
This sleight of hand would sap Australia's moral authority to press other countries to act. It has already been rejected by European countries and Mr Shorten correctly described it as "fake action".
It is strange that the Liberal Party, supposedly the party of business, is treating the idea as a joke. Businesses, such as oil producer Woodside, are big fans because it could be much cheaper than cutting their own emissions. Many companies already buy these credits on a voluntary basis as a public relation exercise to help them become carbon neutral. They are attractive because the cost per ton of reducing carbon emissions by, say, planting a forest in Papua New Guinea is currently only a fraction of the cost of doing it here.
This sleight of hand would sap Australia's moral authority to press other countries to act. It has already been rejected by European countries and Mr Shorten correctly described it as "fake action".
Another
new point is that Mr Shorten said he would allow the use of so-called
international carbon credits, which sound similar but are very
different. Under this policy, Australian polluters would be able to meet
some of their emissions reduction targets by paying for climate
reduction projects in other countries.
This is what prompted Mr
Morrison's joke in which he speculated Labor's policy could result in
buying emissions credits from Borat's homeland of Kazakhstan.It is strange that the Liberal Party, supposedly the party of business, is treating the idea as a joke. Businesses, such as oil producer Woodside, are big fans because it could be much cheaper than cutting their own emissions. Many companies already buy these credits on a voluntary basis as a public relation exercise to help them become carbon neutral. They are attractive because the cost per ton of reducing carbon emissions by, say, planting a forest in Papua New Guinea is currently only a fraction of the cost of doing it here.
Korea
has already allowed the use of international permits for its new
emissions trading scheme and it is likely they will be used soon in
Europe, New Zealand and China to meet Paris commitments.
Yet international credits are not a panacea. For one thing, some of them can be fakes. A decade ago, Chinese companies were discovered to have sold permits based on misleading claims about reductions in carbon emissions from refrigeration gases.
Links
Yet international credits are not a panacea. For one thing, some of them can be fakes. A decade ago, Chinese companies were discovered to have sold permits based on misleading claims about reductions in carbon emissions from refrigeration gases.
There
are also moral issues in foisting the responsibility for emissions
reductions on developing countries. Moreover excessive dependence on
international permits carries commercial risks. If other countries start
to embrace them their price could rise dramatically.
The ALP is
right to leave open the door to international carbon permits as a
partial answer but it must ensure they are rigorously accredited and
must not use them as a substitute for domestic carbon reduction. Most of
the heavy lifting will have to be done here.Links
- 'Fake action': Labor will not use Kyoto credits in major new emissions package
- 50% of new cars to be electric vehicles by 2030 under Labor climate change policy
- Labor's Emissions Trading Scheme
- Greens blast key part of Labor's climate policy as 'fake action'
- Labor's climate change policy explained: here's what we know
- Labor to tighten emissions regime as it draws climate battle-lines
- Morrison government seeks to divide Labor and unions over emissions
- Coalition says Labor must use Kyoto credits – but also that they make little difference
- Richard Di Natale: I will work with Labor to get action on climate change
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