Friday 24 October 2008

Gas cuts are a lot of hot air

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Wednesday 8/10/2008 Page: 4

This year's Carbon Disclosure Project (CDS) survey has received responses from 72 percent of companies on the S&P/ASX 100 index, up from 58 percent last year, as the Federal Government's proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS) fuels corporate interest in the issue. However, just 41 percent of S&P/ASX 100 respondents said they had made 'specific investments' to reduce carbon emissions.

The report lists BlueScope Steel, OneSteel, Qantas Airways, Boral, Orica and Rio Tinto as companies with high ETS exposure, but highlights sugar and building materials group CSR as being the only emissions-intensive company who failed to supply data to the CDP. Goldman Sachs JBWere's Andrew Gray noted that the possible impact of the ETS on listed companies was still uncertain, while Federal Climate Minister Penny Wong urged the business community to take into account the 'many opportunities that will flow from the introduction' of such a scheme, instead of just focusing on the risks involved.

Meanwhile, a survey by marketing research outfit Ipsos-Eureka had found that climate change is no longer considered the most pressing environmental concern for Australians, with only 46 percent of respondents nominating it as their greatest worry, compared to 55 percent in 2007.

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