Wong firm on carbon

Herald Sun
Tuesday 2/9/2008 Page: 28

BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus has raised the temperature in the battle with the Federal Government over its planned emissions trading scheme. But Climate Change Minister Penny Wong yesterday refused to bow to business demands for any weakening in emissions that would allow a rise in carbon pollution. At an Australian Industry Group conference in Canberra yesterday, Mr Argus argued that a carbon tax system should be considered over the European Union-style cap-and-trade system currently favoured by the Government.

"Australia should consider and debate all the alternatives to a cap-and-trade system," he said. "That's mine, it's not a company view." Senator Wong flatly rejected the proposal and stuck to her guns on climate change policy that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050. "We have a national cap, and exceeding it comes at the price of international credibility," she said. Senator Wong said Australia could not ask other countries to cut their emissions while increasing its own. "If we are going to get the global action we need, we will have to act at home," she said.

Any industry-specific allowances for emissions to exceed the national cap would be "fundamentally inconsistent" with the United Nations process on climate change. Senator Wong asked business leaders to take that into account when lobbying the Government on emissions trading. Nor did she warm to giving more compensation to businesses, which some groups have asked for. She said offering more compensation to any industry, or firm, meant other industries would have to shoulder more of the burden of tackling climate change.

However, Senator Wong did say she was open to discussions about how the proposed compensation fund could be redesigned. Under the Government's proposed emissions trading scheme, due to start in 2010, a cap will be set on carbon emissions which will be reduced over time. The Government is preparing to release some economic modelling on the planned scheme in October before a final report is published by the end of the year.