Industry attacks emission chaos
16 September 2004 — Australia’s major electricity and gas retailers are demanding a single national greenhouse gas reduction standard.
Frustration with different approaches to greenhouse gas emissions adopted by state and federal governments has been building in the past two years, as state Labor governments react to the commonwealth's decision not to sign the Kyoto climate change protocols.
It is federal Labor policy to sign Kyoto, and Western Australia this week became the latest state to announce a unilateral policy.
Yesterday, Energy Retailers Association (ERAA) executive director Deane Russell said the measures were poorly targeted and overly complex.
They were highly inefficient mechanisms for reducing emissions, he said.
"Energy retailers around Australia bear the cost and risk of administering the different state and federal government greenhouse gas abatement measures for the electricity measures," Mr Russell said.
"This is not changing behaviours in the generation and transmission of electricity, and more importantly not changing the behaviours in consumers."
He said the costs of the various schemes were hidden through complex administration, which meant that no part of the industry and its consumers received any signals about reducing carbon emissions.
ERAA yesterday released a policy paper on climate change aimed at ensuring a consistent approach by governments.
The paper argues that a climate change policy must cover emissions from all sectors and industries in the economy, including energy.
It says there should be no bias in applying emission reduction measures -- such as cleaner fossil fuel technologies, improved energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon sequestration options such as halting land clearance and burying liquefied carbon dioxide.
ERAA argues that carbon liability must be assigned so that emissions are reduced cost-effectively. It says there should be minimal exemptions, and that where these are approved -- for example to minimise the effect on Australia's international competitiveness -- there should be transparency.
Not surprisingly the ERAA recommends a market-based carbon price signal in the interests of efficiency -- pointing out this is necessary to rank emission reduction options in order of least cost over time.
Copyright 2004 Nationwide News Pty Limited
The Australian
