FED: Fresh calls to delay action on climate change

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2008
FED: Fresh calls to delay action on climate change

By Cathy Alexander

CANBERRA, Dec 11 AAP - The federal opposition and business groups are ratcheting up
their campaign to delay action on climate change because of the economic crisis.

The government plans to start emissions trading in 2010, and on Monday will release
the details of the scheme, and the 2020 target for greenhouse gas emissions.

As job losses mount because of the deteriorating world economy, opposition emissions
trading spokesman Andrew Robb has again called for emissions trading to be delayed until
2012.

"If the government is not mugged by reality, certainly the rest of Australia is," Mr Robb said.

He said he had met with 51 companies recently and there was a "sense of fear" about
the economic crisis. The last thing they needed was to grapple with emissions trading,
Mr Robb said.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the design of the emissions trading scheme
should be delayed until the outcome of UN climate negotiations late next year.

Industry heavyweight Heather Ridout also called for action on climate change to be softened.

The chief executive of the Australian Industry Group called on the government to consider
delaying emissions trading, and said Australia should aim for a zero cut to emissions
by 2020.

The government is expected to announce a target range somewhere between a five per
cent cut in emissions, and a 25 per cent cut.

"Even in the best of times it was going to be difficult. In the worst of times it is
going to be very difficult indeed," Ms Ridout said.

But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he had always expected criticism for taking action
on climate change.

"We'll be attacked on the hard right by various businesses for going too far," he said.

"You're going to have people out there like the Liberal Party on the far right saying
don't do anything at all."

Mr Rudd defended the need to act on global warming.

"Our job is to get the balance right, because if we do not act on climate change long-term,
then let me tell you it will come and deliver a huge economic burden to Australia if we
fail to act, quite apart from the environmental consequences."

Meanwhile, Independent senator Nick Xenophon - whose vote could be crucial in passing
the emissions scheme through the Senate - has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons.

He wants a totally different scheme to the government's "cap and trade" plan, which
effectively levies a carbon tax on all enterprises with emissions over a certain level.

"I think that this model is pretty cumbersome and clumsy," Senator Xenophon told Sky News.

He wants a scheme that hits companies with high energy-intensity, but rewards companies
with low energy-intensity.

Senator Xenophon did not object to starting a scheme in 2010, or cutting emissions
by 25 per cent by 2020.

AAP ca/kms/tnf/bwl

KEYWORD: CLIMATE WRAP

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