Australian
Thursday 8/1/2009 Page: 1
THE export coal sector believes it will face a $5 billion carbon burden in the first five years of the Rudd Government's proposed emissions trading scheme. The Minerals Council of Australia has stepped up its attack on the proposed plan to reduce carbon emissions as the Government revealed it was unaware which 1000 high carbon emitters would be forced to buy permits to cover their emissions. The council's deputy chief executive Brendan Pearson writes in The Australian today there is a misconception there will be "wheelbarrow loads" of free permits to protect the competitiveness of the export sector.
He argues that Australia is being put at a disadvantage in its coal production at a time when Britain is looking to expand coal production. "These policy developments are contributing to some perverse outcomes," Mr Pearson writes. "The Guardian reported last month on proposals to open 58 new coal mines in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, in Australia - the world's largest coal exporter - production in the coal sector is being scaled back."
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