GOVERNMENT climate adviser Ross Garnaut will use his final report to set out a framework to cut Australia’s greenhouse emissions to near zero by the middle of the century through clean power generation.

The comprehensive report — to be handed to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd this morning — will outline how the country can move away from dirty coal-fired power, with modelling explaining the potential role of gas, clean coal technology and green energy forms such as wind and geothermal.

It will also outline how to cut greenhouse pollution in transport, agriculture and forestry, which are responsible for 37% of Australia’s emissions.

But the message will come with a caveat: deep cuts in Australia will depend on reaching a strong global deal, which Professor Garnaut considers unlikely.

The 600-plus page report comes after three bruising weeks for Professor Garnaut following his previous report, which did not include final recommendations. That report faced criticism for its recommendation that Australia should agree to make a proportionate emissions cut of 10% below 2000 levels by 2020 as part of a limited but achievable global climate deal.

Climate scientists and environmentalists have damned the proposal, which would aim to initially stabilise carbon dioxide emissions at 550 parts per million. According to an earlier Garnaut report, it would give only a one-in-four chance of limiting global temperature rises to 2 degrees — the point considered the threshold for catastrophic famine, flooding and species extinction.

Sixteen authors with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have called on Mr Rudd to ignore Professor Garnaut’s advice and set a minimum 2020 target of a 25% cut as a fair contribution to avoiding dangerous climate change.

A similar call was made by World Vision Australia chief Tim Costello, who issued a late appeal to Professor Garnaut warning that a global deal would be less likely if Australia set a weaker target.

“The suggestion that 550 parts per million might be the best we can do could become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Mr Costello said.

Professor Garnaut is expected to today stress a part of his last report that has largely been overlooked: that he believes Australia should still push for a target of stabilising carbon dioxide levels at a lower level — 450 parts per million — in the lead-up to the key UN meetings in Copenhagen next year.

This would require the Rudd Government to commit to a 25% emissions cut by 2020.

But Professor Garnaut is pessimistic about the likelihood of this target winning support, estimating it would require rich countries to cut emissions by 34% between 2012 and 2020.

It is believed the final report will stress that Treasury modelling shows Australia will remain prosperous and living standards will continue to improve if it agrees to deep cuts.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/garnaut-to-fire-his-final-shot-20080929-4qev.html

GOVERNMENT climate change adviser Ross Garnaut is set to recommend that Australia make deep cuts in its greenhouse emissions only after a strong global commitment.

In a speech tomorrow to the National Press Club in Canberra, Professor Garnaut will argue that the Federal Government should take a lead in climate change negotiations but ultimately decide how much it will cut its emissions by 2020 based on the level of international agreement.

He will set out several emissions trajectories and targets, each dependent on the level of global commitment - the stronger the international resolve, the deeper Australia should slash its pollution.

The latest Garnaut report - the penultimate from the climate change review team headed by the veteran economist - comes as the Federal Government faces intense pressure from business to soften the key plank of its attack on climate change, an emissions trading scheme.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/garnaut-take-the-lead-on-emissions-20080903-48ya.html

TAX changes to make it easier to buy vehicles with the latest technology could cut transport’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a transport expert.

The Federal Government’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) should also take into account the cost disadvantages faced by local transport operators compared with international players, says Apelbaum Consulting.

Company director John Apelbaum said tax changes to allow accelerated depreciation would encourage the faster introduction of new technology in road, rail, sea and air.

http://business.theage.com.au/business/ets-needs-appreciation-of-depreciation-expert-20080730-3nf9.html

Global giant GE Energy says it could build a coal-fired power station in Australia by 2015 that would be the first in the nation to bury its greenhouse gas emissions.

GE Energy is garnering support from governments and industry this week to build a commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant that costs about $3 billion.

If approved soon, the plant could be ready to operate in another seven years, GE Energy says.

http://news.smh.com.au/business/ge-energy-to-build-clean-coal-plant-20080730-3naj.html

AUSTRALIA’S new emissions trading scheme could be worth $11 billion within three years, a carbon market analyst says.
Point Carbon said it believed the scheme would involve a “relatively lenient cap” equivalent to a 2.0-6.0 per cent cut in emissions during its initial phase between 2010 and 2013.

It also estimated that pollution permits to be released by the Federal Government during that time would be worth about $10.4 billion, based on a five per cent cut in emissions and current average market prices of $19 a tonne.

“Taking the same cap and assuming a level of trading in line with growth seen in the EU ETS (European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme), the value of traded credits could reach $11 billion within three years of operation,” it said.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24033277-29277,00.html

The Rudd Government released proposals for a new plan to tackle climate change by reducing carbon pollution on the 16th July 2008.

Releasing the Government’s Green Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, said the time for action on climate change was now.

“We confront a daunting reality: we cannot continue to pour carbon pollution into the atmosphere as if there is no cost,” Senator Wong told the National Press Club in Canberra.

“The 12 hottest years in history have all been in the last 13 years.

“As one of the hottest and driest continents on earth, Australia’s economy and environment will be one of the hardest and fastest hit by climate change if we don’t act now.

“Climate change threatens our food production, agriculture, and water supplies, as well as icons like the Great Barrier Reef, the Kakadu wetlands and the multi billion dollar tourism industries they support.

“The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is a response to climate change that is economically responsible, supports families and prepares Australia for our future challenges.”

Senator Wong said the Green Paper sets out options and identifies the Government’s disposition and preferred positions on emissions trading and the support proposed to help households and businesses adjust to this economic transformation.

“At the heart of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is emissions trading, in which the Government sets a limit on how much carbon pollution industry can produce, and then the Government sells permits up to that limit, creating an incentive to look for cleaner energy options.

“Companies can buy and sell permits from each other depending on how much they value them, thereby enabling the market to find the most efficient ways to reduce carbon pollution.”

Senator Wong said this was the most efficient, lowest cost and most economically responsible way to reduce carbon pollution, but any move to tackle climate change was not without costs.

“The Government will ensure that every cent raised from the selling of permits will be used to help households and business as they make the move to a clean energy future.”

Senator Wong said the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, that the Government intends to implement in 2010, is a whole of economy reform on par with past economic reforms such as the reduction in tariffs or deregulation of the financial system.

“Placing a limit and a price on pollution will change the things we produce, the way we produce them, and the things we buy. It will open new doors to a cleaner energy future.”

“In this Green Paper, the Government has sought to strike the right balance, on the basis of economically responsible policy in the national interest.”

Senator Wong said the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will cover stationary energy, transport, fugitive emissions, industrial processes, waste and forestry sectors, and all six greenhouse gases counted under the Kyoto Protocol from the time the scheme begins.

“To offset the initial price impact on fuel associated with the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the Government will cut fuel taxes on a cent for cent basis.

“We will periodically assess the adequacy of this adjustment measure for three years and adjust this offset accordingly. At the end of the three year period the measure will be reviewed.”

For heavy vehicle road users, who transport goods across the country, fuel taxes will be cut on a cent-for-cent basis to offset the initial price impact on fuel associated with the impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. The Government will review this measure after one year.

To assist rural and regional areas, the Government will provide a rebate equivalent to the excise cut for businesses in the agricultural and fishing industries for three years.

“The Government will increase payments, above automatic indexation, to people in receipt of pensioner, carer, senior and allowance benefits and to provide other assistance to meet the overall increase in the cost of living flowing from the scheme,” Senator Wong said.

“We will also increase assistance to other low-income households through the tax and payment system to meet the overall increase in the cost of living flowing from the scheme.

“Middle-income households will also get assistance to help them meet any overall increase in the cost of living flowing from the scheme.”

The Government will establish the Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF) to help business transition to a cleaner economy, by providing in partnership funding for a range of activities, including:
• Capital investment in innovative new low emissions processes
• Industrial energy efficiency projects with long payback periods
• Dissemination of best and innovative practice among small to medium sized enterprises.

The Government will provide transitional assistance in the form of a share of free permits to the most emissions intensive trade exposed activities.

The Government also proposes to provide a limited amount of direct assistance to existing coalfired electricity generators.

“After so many years of inaction, it is impossible for Australia to be in front of the rest of the world in tackling climate change,” Senator Wong said.

“A greater risk is being left behind a world of emerging economic opportunities.”

http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/wong/2008/pubs/mr20080716.pdf

http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/greenpaper/index.html

Australia’s first trial of geosequestration in the Otways reached its first milestone last week — 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide was successfully stored two kilometres underground in a depleted natural gas field.

Scientists from the Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies hope to increase that to 100,000 tonnes next year, while continuing to monitor the local geology.

CO2CRC Otway Project chief executive Dr Peter Cook, who is overseeing the $40 million project, is confident that the day will come when much of the carbon dioxide produced from large industrial sources can be buried.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/carbon-dioxide-burial-reaches-a-milestone-20080706-32no.html

The Draft Report describes the methodology that the Review is applying to evaluation of the costs and benefits of climate change mitigation; to the application of the science of climate change to Australia; to the international context of Australian mitigation, and to Australian mitigation policy.

The Draft Report is a stage in the journey toward the Final Report at the end of September 2008.

It follows the Interim Report and the Emissions Trading Scheme Discussion Paper released in February 2008 and March 2008 respectively.

The Draft Report generally does not make recommendations, although the tendency of policy analysis is clear. It is closest to recommendations on the design features of the emissions trading scheme, which require business and community discussion of the issues before the completion of the Final Report.

http://www.garnautreview.org.au/CA25734E0016A131/pages/draft-report

THE Rudd Government has set Australia on course for a new era of greener but more expensive electricity, pressing ahead with a plan to make 20% of our power come from renewable sources within just over a decade.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/rudd-locks-in-green-power-plan-20080702-30oe.html?page=-1

Big business is unprepared for the national carbon emissions trading scheme set to begin within two years, a survey has found.

Only 36 per cent of the senior executives surveyed were aware the federal government’s carbon trading scheme will kick into action in 2010, the Australian Institute of Management, Victoria and Tasmania, (AIM) survey found.

http://news.smh.com.au/business/business-unprepared-for-emissions-scheme-20080701-2zqm.html