The government allocated $652.5 million in the budget to new renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs.
”I have consistently said … climate change is real, it’s caused by human activity. We will as a nation need a price on carbon; to get there we need community consensus,” Ms Gillard said.
Mr Abbott told Brisbane radio yesterday he would like to see emissions reduced but the economy should not be turned upside down to do it. ”The problem with some of the more zealous emission reducers is that they would do enormous damage to our economy without necessarily improving the environment. In the end we’ve got to be pragmatic and we’ve got to be scientific about this, and the scientific consensus is not nearly as solid as the climate-change zealots would have us believe.”
Early next week cabinet will consider energy-efficiency program options proposed by department heads in a report handed to the government last Friday. Several options are said to be in the mix, including targets or obligations for business and the community to increase their energy efficiency over time.
A proposal to impose pollution standards on electricity generators was considered at one point. The United States, China and Japan are all considering similar standards. Modelling seen by the Herald shows a low pollution standard for electricity generators would increase prices by 14¢ a week in Victoria and 1¢ a week in NSW.
It also shows pollution standards on power plants would halt the growth in greenhouse emissions from energy production until 2040, but would not decrease emissions as much as a carbon price would.
The opposition is also preparing policies on top of its $3.2 billion climate plan, with announcements on power generators and community involvement in reducing emissions expected.
The Greens leader, Bob Brown, said yesterday he was disappointed with Ms Gillard’s time frame for reviewing a decision on a carbon price, saying the Greens would ensure that better climate policies are developed no matter which party was in power.
An Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman, Tony Mohr, said: ”The decision to leave the emissions trading scheme on ice … will bring about an abrupt end to her honeymoon.”
The head of AGL Energy, Michael Fraser, will argue today for a price on carbon to address uncertainty facing investors in the energy sector.
with Clancy Yeates and AAP