Garnaut warned on green energy targets

Australian
Monday 4/2/2008 Page: 33

AUSTRALIA'S pipeline industry has warned climate change reviewer Ross Garnaut that the federal Government's commitment to an expanded renewable energy target could lead to higher not lower greenhouse emissions. Professor Garnaut, conducting a climate change review for the federal and state governments, has called for the market to determine the best and least expensive means of greenhouse gas reduction over four decades.

Cheryl Cartwright, chief executive of the Australian Pipeline Industry Association, last week said Professor Garnaut was missing an opportunity to encourage the best process for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She said the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target, which the Rudd Government is committed to lifting to 20 per cent by 2020, could, if set too high, lead to high carbon emissions in the short to medium term if the emissions trading system being investigated by the Garnaut review was not appropriate.

"While Professor Garnaut's proposal follows sound economic theory, it ignores political reality," Ms Cartwright said. "A scheme that can give the appearance that industry might not be doing enough to reduce carbon emissions provides the potential for government intervention in the future." Ms Cartwright has criticised the MRET scheme for its encouragement of wind energy ahead of other renewables as a replacement for coal-tired baseload electricity generation.

"The MRET is an example of the Government picking winners," she said. "It is a scheme that benefits the currently most developed green technology, regardless of the potential of other more innovative and efficient solutions." She said that if the price of carbon in an emissions trading system working in conjunction with MRET was too low, it could result in an increase in higher-emission coal-fired power generation. "A high MRET target will force the price of energy production too high the nonrenewable energy productions costs will need to be reduced as much as possible, hence a focus on coal-fired energy," she said.

Ms Cartwright said it was more appropriate to invest in natural gas as a transitional fuel for power generation. The Government should encourage renewable energy development without ignoring the benefits of moving to natural gas in the eventual transition to fully renewable power sources.

(Could it be the Australian Pipeline Industry Association and the fossil fuel lobby generally, are starting to realise profligate polluting, bankrolling anti clean energy groups and the exceptional hype and spin so beloved by the carbon cabal has passed its use-by date? Subsidies for the fossil fuel folks are OK but MRET's are unfair. Sorry, no points if you picked the contradictions above - Blair)