Swing against emissions trading

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Thursday 26/3/2009 Page: 4

Growing concern about the economy and greater awareness about the details of the federal government's proposed emissions trading scheme has caused a noticeable shift in the sentiment of the business community. Corporate advisers say the delay in passing the ETS legislation is causing a problem for business as companies prepare budgets for the next financial year without knowing the fate of the biggest economic reform in decades. KPMG's head of sustainability Rob Hogarth, said the uncertainty was creating angst for many of his clients, especially power generators, who needed to factor in the cost of compliance.

Rob Fowler, an emission trading specialist at Booz & Co, said there was also the possibility firms would need to raise capital for permit auctions. Cement Australia's chief executive Chris Leon criticized the design of the scheme, saying it would send the industry offshore. Likewise, Carl McCamish, executive general manager of policy and sustainability at Origin Energy, said his company, which has $1.5 billion of investment in Australian gas-fired electricity in the pipeline, needed to be certain of the design of the system.