Herald Sun
Thursday 23/4/2009 Page: 63
IT IS no wonder the Federal I Government's duplicitous rhetoric on climate change continues to baffle those wondering whether the 2007 election delivered a "greener" prime minister than his predecessor. On the one hand, the government has produced a policy it claims will incentivise the economy to reduce carbon emissions-the CPRS.
The CPRS is unloved by all and sundry largely because it does little to encourage emission cuts, bugger all to increase renewable energy and even less to create "green" jobs over the next couple of decades. The acronym is increasingly being derided as the Carbon Pollution Reward Scheme (rather than Reduction) because it does too much to support the coal-fired electricity sector.
If a market mechanism has been chosen to bring about the transformation of the energy sector, why does the CPRS intend to provide polluting power generators with the means to remain viable under emissions trading? It really is a Tort and one which many industries are going to be paying for without any likelihood that the economy will become significantly greener any time soon.
Sure, the government makes token gestures that look green, but in fact it is methodically unravelling some of its predecessor's policies that genuinely encouraged renewables. When he's not saving whales, we seethe Environment Minister scampering around the countryside announcing a green initiative here and unveiling another over there.
Here are some of the headlines Peter Garrett would like to bring to our attention: "$4.2 million for Mount Barker Windfarm" ... "Hot water rebates support WA jobs" ... "Solar testing centre open for business".. . "$1.2 million puts the solar in Adelaide Solar City". And that's only from April so far. His latest announcement trumpets that the Mount Barker Windfarm will be funded under the government's Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP) and it "delights" him that "more West Australians will be able to source renewable energy" as a result.
If that is so, why are his representatives going around telling renewable energy industry groups that funds in the RRPGP program have almost run out and that a top-up is unlikely? A spokesman for Mr Garrett told this column the funds were finite, but the government was considering other measures to support remote renewable energy. Oh, really? How ironic then that last week the minister took credit for the installation of a solar system at the MTU Detroit Diesel building in Adelaide.
While facilitating a system that will produce 20% of Detroit Diesel's energy cleanly is laudable, isn't it just a little perverse that the company is one of the main suppliers of diesel generators to remote areas? That's right ... when the subsidies for solar and wind energy to communities that are not connected to the grid dry up, Detroit Diesel, and its competitor Caterpillar, can expect demand for their polluting generators to increase.
And it will keep customers on the fossil fuel drip-feed, even though the reality is that without the subsidy, a solar system could pay for itself in two or three years - if the cost of diesel is factored in - and thereafter daytime electricity would be free. So what will the government do with the money it would have contributed towards renewable energy? Perhaps Energy Minister Martin Ferguson provided a hint yesterday in his own double-speak announcement: give some of it to Linc Energy's coal-to-liquids demo plant in Queensland, of course.
The minister said: "Technologies that convert coal and gas to ultra clean diesel and jet fuel have the potential to replace Australia's declining oil reserves." "Ultra-clean" diesel? You're kidding me! Actually, he was kidding, because a bit further on the press release mentioned that coal-to-liquids diesel would have "a carbon footprint comparable with the production of conventional fuels".
Thanks for clarifying that, Minister, and proving once again that the rhetoric being spun by the government is as dirty as carbon pollution.
ogalacho@heraldsun.com.au
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