Environment spending welcomed but action required
14 May 2008
WWF-Australia today welcomed the Rudd Government's first budget, applauding new budget measures for protected areas, Indigenous conservation, water buyback, and the Great Barrier Reef – key elements of a national climate rescue package for Australia's irreplaceable natural heritage.
But the organisation said the timeframe identified in the budget for implementing carbon capture and storage technology was vastly inadequate to get demonstration projects up and running in the next few years.
"This is a very good budget for the environment but we do need to accelerate the development of carbon capture and storage technology so we can know immediately if this will play a role in the fight against climate change," said WWF-Australia CEO Greg Bourne.
However, Mr Bourne said the new Government had delivered on everything it said it would and now needed to take this money and turn it into significant action.
Many of the Federal Government's environmental initiatives announced in the lead-up to the budget addressed recommendations in WWF's 2007 report, Priorities for a Living Australia.
These included making $200 million available to protect the Great Barrier Reef, spending $180 million for new protected areas, $150 million for Indigenous conservation and $3 billion for water buybacks.
Mr Bourne said the announcement of a $500 million fund to develop and deploy of clean coal technologies was welcome but said the eight-year time frame for allocation of the funds did not reflect the urgency needed to develop CCS technology.
"Allocating $500 million for CCS over eight years is simply playing lip service to the scale of the climate change problem. We need $500 million over one year, not eight years," he said.
"The Government must ensure carbon capture and storage demonstration plants and renewable energy plants are built within the next few years."
Mr Bourne added that the Government had missed an opportunity to begin reforming the carbon market in Australia.
"The Clean Coal Fund is extremely important but we would urge the Federal Government to consider implementing tax reform to further support this investment," Mr Bourne said.
In relation to the $20 billion Building Australia Fund, WWF said any money being spent on building Australia's future must also take into consideration the kinds of infrastructure needed to reduce the impacts of climate change.
WWF also expressed disappointment at the lack of re-funding for the Threatened Species Network, a priority for the $2.2b Caring for Our Country program, particularly after the National Audit Office last year found threatened species management was desperately underfunded.
"This is a significant blow to ensuring the recovery of our nation's threatened marine and terrestrial species," Mr Bourne said.
"That said, we do recognise that this budget represents progress in turning the tanker of environmental degradation around through incentives to transform energy and water markets," Mr Bourne said. "WWF looks forward to working with the Government on further environmental programs to secure our future for generations to come."
For more information:
For more information, or interviews with Greg Bourne, WWF CEO, please contact:
Rachael Hoy, WWF-Australia Press Office, 02 8202 1242, 0407 204 594
Charles Stevens, WWF-Australia Press Office, 02 8202 1274, 0424 649 689
