The Investor Group on Climate Change, representing fund managers holding more than $600 billion, said yesterday’s changes would only ”marginally” affect future investment decisions until there was a clearer policy on carbon.
“In terms of driving significant investment into low-carbon technologies, or allowing investors to price emissions risks into their portfolios, clearly we are still in a period of waiting,” the group’s chief executive, Nathan Fabian, said. The big listed utilities, Origin and AGL, echoed their previous calls for greater clarity through an emissions trading scheme.
Broader-based business groups welcomed the chance for further discussion, but stressed the need for greater certainty in carbon policy. Katie Lahey, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia, said while elements of Labor’s policy were ”useful”, the party needed show leadership and provide lasting solutions.
“The ALP’s commitment to building community consensus is constructive,” she said. “However, in this complex policy area, long-term solutions that balance Australia’s economic and environment considerations will only come through strong political leadership.”
Brad Page, the chief executive of the Energy Supply Association, said the measures, including $1 billion over 10 years to connect remote renewable energy projects, was ”sensible policy”.
But Mr Page said without both of the major parties aligned on climate business would continue to flounder in uncertainty.
”That is really why we welcome the new consultation measures,” he said. ”They must lead to bipartisan policies and measures because if you don’t get those you still can’t make those large capital, intensive, long-life investment decisions,” he said.
However, the ANU climate change economist Professor Warwick McKibbin, said the Gillard government had adopted an ”asylum-seeker approach to climate policy”. Climate uncertainty would be felt ”right across the economy”.
”Business wants to know what the framework is and they want to know if there is a way that they can hedge the very large risks that they need to make on very large capital investments over the next decade or two and this doesn’t provide any of it. This creates more uncertainty. It puts everything under the carpet for another year,” he said.