Extra cost of renewable energy may be wasted

West Australian
Tuesday 10/3/2009 Page: 13

Thousands of people who have chosen to pay extra for renewable green electricity will not help to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions if the new carbon reduction Bill becomes law, according to consumer advocacy group Choice.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said that under the proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS), due to be introduced in Federal Parliament today, voluntary action by consumers, such as buying GreenPower, would make it cheaper and easier for industry to pollute. "Under the scheme, Australia's biggest polluting businesses are required to achieve a certain emissions reduction target," he said. "When households buy accredited GreenPower or domestic carbon offsets it doesn't help exceed this target.

It simply makes it cheaper for business to achieve what they are required to do anyway." Mr Zinn said that since Australia signed the Kyoto Protocol in 2007, voluntary efforts to reduce the nation's carbon footprint were not "additional" to the greenhouse emission reductions that Australia was required to meet.

"The CPRS undermines consumer choice," he said. "Carbon pollution avoided as a result of voluntary consumer action should be counted as additional to the mandatory emissions reductions required of polluting industry. "Unless this legislation can be improved, consumers' financial sacrifices will be wasted as it will make no difference to Australia's emissions."

More than 878,000 households have chosen to pay more for renewable energy nation-wide. According to electricity retailer Synergy Energy, almost 7500 WA households had signed up to renewable energy program GreenPower by last December. Their average bi-monthly electricity bill is $40 more than a household not using GreenPower.

Synergy Energy corporate affairs chief Andrew Gaspar said an extra 6725 households had signed up to GreenPower since December 2004. "It is important customers' actions are appropriately recognised under the CPRS," he said. Opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt said there was a "significant design flaw" in the CPRS. "We would like to see a system which ensures that where householders take additional action, that has an impact on Australia's overall emissions," Mr Hunt said.

A spokeswoman for Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said caps on carbon pollution to be set in the future would take into account the emissions reductions being made by households today.