Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Industry, Energy, and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor have been clear that there would be no new policies or priorities – and they have stuck to that position, writes Tony Wood. | OPINION climate Auspol
The federal government’s commitment to a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a major breakthrough in Australia’s climate war, and it should be warmly welcomed. The long-term emissions reduction plan announced today is a solid update on the government’s commitment to developing low-cost, low-emission technologies. But it is not a policy platform to hit the emissions reduction target.
The government also released its updated projections for Australia’s emissions through to 2030. They show that the target of a reduction of 26-28 per cent below the level in 2005 by 2030 will be exceeded, with an expected reduction of 30-35 per cent. The improvement at the bottom of this range is due to further reductions in emissions from electricity generation, almost entirely driven by state-based policies.
There are two major concerns with the credibility of the plan. First, it seems to assume that all low-emission technologies can be brought to a point of cost parity with their current high-emission equivalent. This is largely true of renewable energy today. However, getting to this point was not a cost-free journey, and all Australians are still paying for it through their electricity bills.
The second concern arises because there are many actions to reduce emissions that will not depend on technologies. In the coming years, tens of thousands of small businesses and a couple of hundred big businesses will need to decide whether to switch from processes that produce emissions to those that do not – for example switching from gas to electricity for heat. Every one of these decisions will have a capital equipment replacement cost.
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