Cut emissions by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020: green groups

AAP Newswire
Thursday 6/3/2008

CANBERRA, March 6 AAP - Green groups have released a paper setting out their key tests for a future Australian carbon emissions trading scheme. In a joint paper to be released today Greenpeace, the Total Environment Centre and the Climate Action Network say they will support the introduction of a trading scheme only if it is designed to effectively, efficiently and equitably achieve significant emissions reductions.

The paper says Australia should aim to reduce its carbon emissions by 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. The federal government intends to cut emissions by 60 per cent from 2000 levels by 2050. However, it has delayed setting a 2020 target until later this year, after it receives Treasury modelling and the final climate change report of economist Ross Garnaut. Permits should be auctioned from the outset, no permits should be given away free, and revenue from permit sales should be used to support climate change solutions, the paper says.

A suite of complementary measures, including a strong renewable energy target, energy efficiency measures and deployment at a commercial scale of low emission technologies, are also necessary, it says. Total Environment Centre Executive Director Jeff Angel said the paper signalled the beginning of a year long campaign to get an effective trading scheme up and running. "The scale of threat from global warming requires an ambitious response from the economy that is linked to strong 2020 and 2050 targets," Mr Angel said.