Setting Achievable Emissions Targets for Australia

Coverage of the BCA paper Setting Achievable Emissions Targets for Australia as reported in various newspapers on 31 May 2007.

The BCA report says Australia should introduce a three-tiered regime of emissions targets set by a new Reserve Bank-styled emissions agency, which would set fixed five- to 10-year targets, further interim gateway emissions targets and then a long-term target of at least 30 years in the future. The targets would need to be reviewed and changed according to changes in the climate science, technology or international policy settings.

From ‘Howard Warms to Greenhouse Gas Targets’ by Dennis Shanahan & Sid Marris, The Australian, 31 May 2007, p. 1.

‘We need to work out in the Australian context what we are capable of doing and what the rate of change should be ... [BCA Policy Director] Ms Tarrant said a longer-term target should be accompanied by annual five-year targets, combined with indications of targets for the next five years.’

From ‘Weak Carbon Laws Risk Perpetual Uncertainty’ by Angus Grigg, The Australian Financial Review, 31 May 2007, p. 4.

[BCA] Hasn’t stipulated a target but believes any targets that are set as part of a national trading scheme should be “credible and achievable” while making sure Australia is able to maintain its competitive advantage ... Wants all sectors of the economy included where possible. Where not possible, other policies should be introduced to ensure commensurate emissions reduction in that sector ... emissions trading and the application of targets should begin once modelling and research has been conducted to assess the economic, social and environmental impacts.

From ‘The Big Trade-Off’ by Liz Minchin & Mathew Murphy, The Age, 31 May 2007, p. 13.

The need for Australia to embrace both a short-term cap on greenhouse-gas emissions, and a long-term emissions-reduction target, was also emphasised by the politically influential Business Council of Australia yesterday ... “If Australia links sensible and credible emissions-reduction targets to a long-term, well-designed emissions-trading scheme, we can … provide a way forward that other countries could be encouraged to join,” business council president Michael Chaney said.

From ‘PM Plans Climate-Change Envoys to Spread Word’ by Katharine Murphy, The Age, 31 May 2007, p. 9.

The Business Council of Australia wants a three-tiered system to determine credible carbon reduction targets for industry sectors that would not damage the economy and create investment certainty. The BCA model for pollution targets was revealed on the eve of the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading handing down its report on the shape of a carbon credits market.

From ‘BCA’s Carbon Target’ by Olga Galacho, Herald Sun, 31 May, p. 35.

BCA president Michael Chaney said long-term carbon reduction goals were critical to an effective emissions trading scheme. “But prior to determining the quantum of any reduction target Australia must first undertake extensive national economic modelling … and develop a detailed knowledge of the likely climate change policies and targets of other countries, particularly those that we trade and compete with,” he said. The BCA also called for rolling fixed emissions targets that could run for five years and then each year for 10 years.

From ‘BCA Sets Climate Change Targets’ by Olga Galacho, The Courier-Mail, 31 May 2007, p. 64.

The Business Council of Australia called for extensive research and gauging the policies of trading competitors before setting an emissions target.

‘Howard Prepares to Set Emissions Target’ by Peter Williams, Australian Associated Press, 31 May 2007.