“AUSTRALIA will more than play its part to address climate change.” This was the surprising on Tuesday from Australian prime minister John Howard, who has shunned international carbon reduction schemes such as the Kyoto protocol. Now here’s the “but”: Australia will do it “in a practical and balanced way in full knowledge of the economic consequences for this nation”, Howard said.
The A$627 million (US$548 million) climate-change package amounts to a national “cap and trade” greenhouse gas emissions scheme. However, Howard has not revealed what the “cap” – the emissions target – will be, nor has he put a price on carbon emissions, notes Erwin Jackson, of the Climate Institute of Australia, an independent environmental organisation based in Sydney.
The scheme could be up and running by 2011 and would apply to about 55 per cent of Australia’s carbon emissions, according to the country’s environment minister.
Advertisement
Howard has been under strong pressure to announce some sort of carbon trading system. In April, Australia’s states declared their intention to go it alone and set up a national trading scheme. Public support has also swung towards opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has promised to ratify Kyoto if he wins the next election, due late this year.
“Support has swung towards the opposition leader, who has promised to ratify Kyoto”
Greenpeace Australia says Howard has actually yielded to pressure from another group – his country’s powerful coal industry – by announcing what amounts to a delaying tactic in carbon trading, rather than an effective new scheme to reduce carbon emissions.
The new climate-change package includes A$336 million for boosting energy efficiency in schools, each of which will receive “green vouchers” up to the value of A$50,000, to help fund the installation of rainwater tanks and solar hot-water systems.
