Climate Change action: More information
More in depth information
Pass the emissions trading scheme now and before the United Nations global climate change conference in Copenhagen. In the past Australia has been a negative force for global action on climate change. Many countries are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Europe and major American and Canadian states and provinces (and NSW) have already established emissions trading schemes. By passing a national emissions trading scheme now, Australia is demonstrating to the world that we are acting, this will encourage other countries to commit to strong action. Passing the emissions trading scheme now will also provide certainty to business so they can start investing in a low carbon economy. The longer we delay the harder and more costly it will be to transform the economy and stay well below a two-degree temperature rise.
Don't cave in to the demands of the big polluters. They are trying to offload the problem of climate change onto the rest of us, instead of doing their fair share. They have had ample warning to prepare their industries for the 21st century, and should not make windfall profits from free permits. We've caught them pleading for corporate welfare from the government, while at the same time telling investors they stand to do well from the scheme. Every dollar for big polluters is a dollar less for households and climate change solutions.
According to Innovest, six out of the ten companies that will pocket the most corporate welfare from the emissions trading scheme are not even Australian owned!
Revenue from the scheme should instead go into climate change solutions - including green jobs and skills training, research and innovation, caring for our land, energy efficiency, and international programs, which brings us to our next point.
Flexible targets. The Coalition wants to remove flexibility for targets to be strengthened as the science requires, as international agreements change and as technology changes. Every indicator points to a trend of the science asking for more action, not less. If we are locked in to policy based on outdated science, we will paralyse Australia's ability to respond to change.
Likewise, advances in technology may mean we meet our pollution targets far more easily and quickly than anyone imagined, freeing us to do more faster.
Demand that all your good work should count towards reducing Australia's pollution. As it stands, under the CPRS, additional voluntary action by households and workplaces will not reduce our overall pollution. It will only free up more permits for the big polluters, as there is no mechanism to take advantage of exceeding the targets. This is outrageous. It's like telling the vast majority of Australians who have recently made some voluntary effort to reduce their pollution, not to bother.
If our targets were ambitious, it might not matter so much, but with the current weak 5% by 2020 target, it is conceivable small energy users could meet most of it through voluntary action, letting the big polluters off scot free! All Australians have the right to cut their own greenhouse pollution and for that action to make a difference.
