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The Australian Government made public its long awaited new climate change plan on July 10. Based on the plan, the government will collect a carbon tax from Australia’s major corporate carbon emitters starting July 1, 2012. Around 500 businesses in the country will be covered, and the tax will be AU$23($25.4) per ton of carbon. The tax is set to increase 2.5 percent each year in real terms and will be suspended by 2015 when the system is incorporated into a carbon emissions trading system.
At the same time, the Australian Government will boost innovation and investment in the clean energy sector. For instance, it will invest AU$10 billion ($11 billion) to set up a Clean Energy Finance Corp., which will invest in renewable energy, low pollution and energy efficiency technologies.
The government will also promote carbon emission reductions on farms. It will launch a Carbon Farming Initiative, allowing farmers and land managers to create tradable credits for carbon storage and emission reduction activities.
A pioneering plan
Despite the strong performance of the Australian economy, its future growth is likely to rely on the export of resources. Of all the world’s developed countries, Australia has been least affected by the global financial crisis. In 2009, though most developed countries experienced negative GDP growth, Australia maintained a growth of 1.3 percent. This growth, however, was largely the result of demand for minerals from emerging economies such as China.
The Australian economy continued to boom in 2010. Growth increased to 2.3 percent while its unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent from 5.5 percent in December 2009. But Australia’s manufacturing industry is relatively uncompetitive, and mineral products account for more than half of Australia’s commodity exports.
The political influence of Australia’s Green Party has expanded swiftly in the country in recent years. Support from the Green Party has allowed the ruling Australian Labor Party to push through its policies, particularly environmental policies. Only with the Green Party’s support will the Julia Gillard administration be able to pass its new climate change plan in the parliament.
In recent years, an increasing number of countries have adopted aggressive policies to curb carbon dioxide emissions. Since the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) came into effect in 2005, the volume and value of its trades have grown rapidly. The ETS has become the bulk of the global carbon market. In 2010, it accounted for 84 percent of the total volume of global carbon trades. Emerging economies are also exploring means of controlling carbon emissions through a market mechanism. For instance, China’s 12th FiveYear Plan (2011-15) stipulates that China will establish a greenhouse gas emissions accounting system and gradually set up a carbon emissions trading market.
The new climate change plan is the first to combine the two main climate policy tools—carbon tax and carbon emissions trading. Currently, carbon taxes are collected in countries such as Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Britain. They have also been adopted in some regions in the United States and Canada. Carbon emissions trading mainly takes place in the EU and New Zealand. Australia, however, is probably the only country that plans to introduce a carbon tax before the establishment of a carbon emissions trading system.
The Australian Government’s high subsidy for middle- and low-income families is one of the most outstanding features of the new climate change plan, aiming at reducing people’s concerns over rising living costs induced by the carbon tax. According to the plan, more than 50 percent of the carbon price revenue will be used to assist households, and approximately 90 percent of low-income households will receive assistance that exceeds their expected average price impact by around 20 percent. The government also plans to raise the income tax threshold, which will free over 1 million people from the tax system.
The Carbon Farming Initiative will enable farmers and landholders to get economic benefits through emission reductions. The government will help them learn how to generate carbon emission credits.
Points of contention
Since it was released in July, Australia’s new climate change plan has been fiercely criticized by mining industry tycoons and the conservative Australian Liberal Party. The Australian Trade and Industry Alliance(ATIA) said it would pay at least AU$10 million to launch a publicity campaign against the plan. Opponents, broadly, have three major objections to the plan.
First, they claim the carbon tax program is not well designed and that it will be a great burden for Australian industry, reducing productivity and hindering the country’s economic development. In its advertisement, the ATIA points out the EU raised only $4.9 billion from European companies during the
first six years of the ETS, while Australian companies will bear a $71-billion burden in the first six years under the climate change plan. The Australian carbon price is 14 times higher than the EU carbon price, which the ATIA believes, will do severe damage to Australian exports.
Second, critics say the Australian Government has overestimated the progress
and potential of global carbon emission reductions. Richard Blandy, an associate professor with the University of South Australia, wrote in The Australian that, the Treasury’s carbon price modeling was based on an improbable assumption that global greenhouse gas emissions would be stabilized at 550 parts per million or 450 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent under a concerted world- wide effort. In reality, however, this target cannot be reached. According to estimates, Australia’s carbon emissions will only be 2 percent less than they were in 2000. The government therefore will have to reach its 80-percent carbon emission reduction target mainly by purchasing carbon credits from abroad. The cost of purchasing that many credits would cripple Australia’s economy.
Third, opponents argue the true purpose of the plan is to redistribute wealth instead of protecting the environment. Skeptics claim the government’s carbon tax policy will over-compensate many Australians, as some families will receive a considerable subsidy from the program. Large-scale subsidies, they say, go beyond the scope of carbon taxation and emissions reductions.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet have vociferously responded to the objections of critics. Gillard has said contrary to the ATIA campaign, the climate change plan would not lead to shrinking employment, but offer 500,000 more jobs in the next two years. She also affirmed the carbon tax would not harm Australia’s profitable coal industry, citing the recent bidding of two foreign corporations—U.S.-based Peabody Energy and Luxembourgheadquartered ArcelorMittal—for an Australian coal mine at a price of $5 billion as evidence. Regarding the concerns over Australia’s fiscal status in the future, Combet said he did not anticipate any difficulties as Australia would be able to reach the 80-percent reduction target in 2050 mainly by cutting domestic emissions.
A recent survey indicated only about 30 percent of Australians support the new climate change plan. Since the Labor Party and the Greens constitute the majority in the Senate and occupy almost half of the seats in the House of Representatives, in theory, the new plan will be passed. But parliamentarians cannot afford to ignore voters’ opinions.
If the Gillard administration wants the plan to be approved by the parliament by the end of this year, it will need to make more efforts to convince people of the plan’s importance and feasibility.
At the same time, the Australian Government will boost innovation and investment in the clean energy sector. For instance, it will invest AU$10 billion ($11 billion) to set up a Clean Energy Finance Corp., which will invest in renewable energy, low pollution and energy efficiency technologies.
The government will also promote carbon emission reductions on farms. It will launch a Carbon Farming Initiative, allowing farmers and land managers to create tradable credits for carbon storage and emission reduction activities.
A pioneering plan
Despite the strong performance of the Australian economy, its future growth is likely to rely on the export of resources. Of all the world’s developed countries, Australia has been least affected by the global financial crisis. In 2009, though most developed countries experienced negative GDP growth, Australia maintained a growth of 1.3 percent. This growth, however, was largely the result of demand for minerals from emerging economies such as China.
The Australian economy continued to boom in 2010. Growth increased to 2.3 percent while its unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent from 5.5 percent in December 2009. But Australia’s manufacturing industry is relatively uncompetitive, and mineral products account for more than half of Australia’s commodity exports.
The political influence of Australia’s Green Party has expanded swiftly in the country in recent years. Support from the Green Party has allowed the ruling Australian Labor Party to push through its policies, particularly environmental policies. Only with the Green Party’s support will the Julia Gillard administration be able to pass its new climate change plan in the parliament.
In recent years, an increasing number of countries have adopted aggressive policies to curb carbon dioxide emissions. Since the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) came into effect in 2005, the volume and value of its trades have grown rapidly. The ETS has become the bulk of the global carbon market. In 2010, it accounted for 84 percent of the total volume of global carbon trades. Emerging economies are also exploring means of controlling carbon emissions through a market mechanism. For instance, China’s 12th FiveYear Plan (2011-15) stipulates that China will establish a greenhouse gas emissions accounting system and gradually set up a carbon emissions trading market.
The new climate change plan is the first to combine the two main climate policy tools—carbon tax and carbon emissions trading. Currently, carbon taxes are collected in countries such as Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Britain. They have also been adopted in some regions in the United States and Canada. Carbon emissions trading mainly takes place in the EU and New Zealand. Australia, however, is probably the only country that plans to introduce a carbon tax before the establishment of a carbon emissions trading system.
The Australian Government’s high subsidy for middle- and low-income families is one of the most outstanding features of the new climate change plan, aiming at reducing people’s concerns over rising living costs induced by the carbon tax. According to the plan, more than 50 percent of the carbon price revenue will be used to assist households, and approximately 90 percent of low-income households will receive assistance that exceeds their expected average price impact by around 20 percent. The government also plans to raise the income tax threshold, which will free over 1 million people from the tax system.
The Carbon Farming Initiative will enable farmers and landholders to get economic benefits through emission reductions. The government will help them learn how to generate carbon emission credits.
Points of contention
Since it was released in July, Australia’s new climate change plan has been fiercely criticized by mining industry tycoons and the conservative Australian Liberal Party. The Australian Trade and Industry Alliance(ATIA) said it would pay at least AU$10 million to launch a publicity campaign against the plan. Opponents, broadly, have three major objections to the plan.
First, they claim the carbon tax program is not well designed and that it will be a great burden for Australian industry, reducing productivity and hindering the country’s economic development. In its advertisement, the ATIA points out the EU raised only $4.9 billion from European companies during the
first six years of the ETS, while Australian companies will bear a $71-billion burden in the first six years under the climate change plan. The Australian carbon price is 14 times higher than the EU carbon price, which the ATIA believes, will do severe damage to Australian exports.
Second, critics say the Australian Government has overestimated the progress
and potential of global carbon emission reductions. Richard Blandy, an associate professor with the University of South Australia, wrote in The Australian that, the Treasury’s carbon price modeling was based on an improbable assumption that global greenhouse gas emissions would be stabilized at 550 parts per million or 450 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent under a concerted world- wide effort. In reality, however, this target cannot be reached. According to estimates, Australia’s carbon emissions will only be 2 percent less than they were in 2000. The government therefore will have to reach its 80-percent carbon emission reduction target mainly by purchasing carbon credits from abroad. The cost of purchasing that many credits would cripple Australia’s economy.
Third, opponents argue the true purpose of the plan is to redistribute wealth instead of protecting the environment. Skeptics claim the government’s carbon tax policy will over-compensate many Australians, as some families will receive a considerable subsidy from the program. Large-scale subsidies, they say, go beyond the scope of carbon taxation and emissions reductions.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet have vociferously responded to the objections of critics. Gillard has said contrary to the ATIA campaign, the climate change plan would not lead to shrinking employment, but offer 500,000 more jobs in the next two years. She also affirmed the carbon tax would not harm Australia’s profitable coal industry, citing the recent bidding of two foreign corporations—U.S.-based Peabody Energy and Luxembourgheadquartered ArcelorMittal—for an Australian coal mine at a price of $5 billion as evidence. Regarding the concerns over Australia’s fiscal status in the future, Combet said he did not anticipate any difficulties as Australia would be able to reach the 80-percent reduction target in 2050 mainly by cutting domestic emissions.
A recent survey indicated only about 30 percent of Australians support the new climate change plan. Since the Labor Party and the Greens constitute the majority in the Senate and occupy almost half of the seats in the House of Representatives, in theory, the new plan will be passed. But parliamentarians cannot afford to ignore voters’ opinions.
If the Gillard administration wants the plan to be approved by the parliament by the end of this year, it will need to make more efforts to convince people of the plan’s importance and feasibility.