The Herald Sun
By: Olga Galacho
Climate change
Scheme delay buys time but renewable sector deems it 'insanity'
The emissions trading scheme has been put on ice for at least 30 months as the Federal Government seeks to calibrate its response to climate change with other nations.
Blaming the Coalition's opposition to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the "slow progress'' on global action, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday said legislation to curb Australia's emissions would be delayed until the end of 2012.
Confirmation of the Government's backflip on the ETS met with mixed reaction from industry.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which are among the companies most affected under the scheme and which have spoken out against aspects of the CPRS, yesterday refused to comment.
But the Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA), which lobbies on behalf of power companies, welcomed the delay "as an opportunity for the Government and the Opposition to finalise bipartisan agreement on a stable low-carbon policy''.
The Climate Institute, however, said the policy's mothballing was a bad day for Australian jobs and businesses and it would hamper investment.
"We repeat our urging for all parties to negotiate on a mechanism to limit and make large companies responsible for their pollution,'' TCI chief John Connor said.
ESAA chief Brad Page told BusinessDaily that unless there was bipartisan support on the CPRS "our industry is in a dreadful place''.
"If you introduce legislation that will be overturned at the next election, our members are saying they could end up with stranded assets,'' Mr Page said.
ESAA members own $120 billion in energy generation assets and are poised to invest $50 billion more in the next five years to meet rising demand.
"The environment is about as uncertain as you can get unless you develop renewable energy generation. That group has a good policy outlook,'' Mr Page said.
But a scathing attack on the delay was delivered by Environment Business Australia, whose members develop renewable energy infrastructure.
"It would be economic insanity to defer the main catalyst to action on climate change,'' EBA chief Fiona Wain said.
"Globally, the low-carbon and environmental goods and services sector is worth more than $A6 trillion a year and may already be the world's fastest growing industry.''
Ms Wain said Australia could lead in some niches of this sector because of its vast renewable energy resources and carbon-depleted soils.
"The emissions trading scheme is not a new big tax . . . it is part of the important investment in our future,'' she said.