Friday 15 August 2008

PM's carbon target plans face rethink

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Monday 21/7/2008 Page: 1

A proposal to give parliament the task of annually setting carbon reduction targets in an emissions trading scheme (ETS) looks set to be scrapped by the Rudd Government. The proposal is part of the Government's green paper on the form of an ETS. Senior ministers are reportedly concerned that the target would become a ‘rolling argument,' subject to political lobbying.

Earlier proposals for an ETS including Ross Garnaut's draft report suggested a system incorporating an independent carbon bank which would operate similarly to the Reserve Bank of Australia, making regular adjustments to targets based on medium term goals set by government. Shadow treasurer Malcolm Turnbull has accused the government of failing to ‘clarify…crucial details' before releasing its green paper on the scheme.

Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong has indicated that the government will be conducting an advertising campaign to promote the green paper but did not reveal the budget for that campaign, saying only that it would be nothing like what the Howard government spent on promoting WorkChoices, one of several Howard government advertising campaigns federal Labor were quick to criticise due to the expense involved.

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