Media Release
Mark Butler MP.
Shadow Minister for Environment
Climate Change and Water
In the summer of 2009, it was easy to feel
despondent about global action on climate change. The Copenhagen
Conference had ended in division and profound disappointment. Opponents
of climate action were on the march around the world – and in the
Liberal Party room.
Only six years later – the blink of an eye in
most multilateral processes – we are still basking in the warm
afterglow of a remarkably successful climate change Conference in Paris.
An agreement that all nations, not just
developed nations, would take action to keep global warming well below
two degrees above pre-industrial levels, as well as a more qualified
commitment around a 1.5 degree threshold.
The fact that we find ourselves globally in a
position that I think most people six years ago would not have imagined
possible is a reflection not just of clever Conference management.
Instead, the Paris Agreement reflects the fact that, across the world,
nations are moving to harness the opportunities of a clean energy
future.
Last year, investment in renewable energy was
greater than the combined investment in coal, nuclear, gas and hydro
power. China invested considerably more in renewable energy than the
combined investment from the United States and the European Union.
India also has very ambitious investment targets, particularly in solar
power. In the United States, 200 of their 500 or so coal fired power
stations have either closed in the last five years or have had a target
date set for that closure. And in the United Kingdom, the Cameron
Government only recently announced that their last coal fired power
station will close by 2023.
These are all hard-headed decisions by
national Governments that are aimed at positioning their economies and
their people for the largest share possible of the enormous jobs and
investment opportunities that flow from a clean energy future. They
also reflect a hard-headed recognition that, as the Governor of the Bank
of England said in September, ‘climate change will threaten financial
resilience and long term prosperity. And while there is time to act, the
window is finite and it’s shrinking’.
The time for debating whether we should take
action is past. The debate around the world, and in most corporate
boardrooms, has shifted instead to asking –
What do we need to do, and how fast do we need to do it?
Labor’s Record
During Labor’s last term in office, wind
power in Australia tripled. We went from a position in 2007, where only
7400 Australian households had rooftop solar panels, to 1.3 million
installations six years later - and it’s continued to climb. With the
support of the CEFC and ARENA, we were able to approve the largest
windfarm in the Southern hemisphere in Victoria, and the largest PV
solar farm in the Southern hemisphere in New South Wales. Jobs in the
renewable energy industry tripled.
By the end of the last Labor Government,
Australia was rated as one of the four most attractive places in the
world to invest in renewable energy projects – along with China, the US
and Germany. And our carbon pollution levels had come down by 8%.
That progress has all been wound back by Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.
· Australia has plunged from the 4th most attractive destination for renewable energy investment to 13th.
· In 2014, investment in large-scale renewables plummeted by 88%, with hundreds of jobs lost.
For the first time in a decade, Australia’s
carbon pollution levels rose in 2014/15. Carbon pollution from the
electricity sector has jumped by 5.5% in less than two years. And in
December 2015, the Turnbull Government released data confirming that
pollution levels will continue to rise under Mr Turnbull’s Direct Action
policy. The Government projects that Australia’s pollution levels in
2020 will be 6% above 2000 levels – nowhere near the 5% below 2000 levels committed by both major parties.
And the change in Prime Minister from Tony
Abbott to Malcolm Turnbull has meant nothing in this area. In order to
win the Liberal leadership last year, Malcolm Turnbull committed to his
Party room that Tony Abbott’s policies would be left untouched –
completely contradicting his assessment in 2009 that Mr Abbott’s policy
was nothing more than a “figleaf to cover a determination to do
nothing”.
Challenges and Opportunities for Australia
The transition to a clean energy future
presents huge challenges for a country like Australia, as well as very
significant opportunities. The challenges largely flow from our highly
emissions intensive economy. In large part this reflects an economy
that has been built on coal fired power, as well as the energy intensive
manufacturing operations that tend to be attracted to the abundant and
cheap power produced by coal. Of course, our emissions profile is also
impacted by other sectors of the economy; land use, transport, the
mining sector and the like.
The transition to clean energy around the
world is already presenting a deep challenge to our economy,
particularly as a major coal exporter. As the world shifts to renewable
energy and other low emissions sources of power such as nuclear and
gas, the coal market is in steep decline. The Queensland Resources
Council reports that more than half of the thermal coal mines in
Queensland operate at a loss. Thousands of jobs have been lost.
But in the domestic market, coal is still
king, powering more than three quarters of Australia’s electricity. As a
result, our electricity sector produces more carbon pollution per
megawatt hour than China’s and about 87% more than the OECD average.
Electricity generation in Australia is the single biggest source of
carbon pollution, accounting for one third of our national total.
It simply must get cleaner.
And herein lies the opportunity. Because in
electricity, unlike many other sectors of the economy, cleaner
technology to produce power already exists; and it’s constantly getting
better and it’s constantly getting cheaper.
Australia is also blessed by the fact we
don’t just have lots of coal, gas and uranium. We also have some of the
best renewable energy resources on the face of the earth. We have great
solar radiation, extraordinary wind resources and, especially in the
Southern ocean, some of the best wave energy. And, over many years,
we’ve consistently demonstrated we have some of the best minds and most
innovative businesses - hungry to drive this transition to a clean
energy future.
Labor’s Consultations about Climate and Energy Policy
Over the past few months, I’ve been sitting
down with industry, unions, community and environment groups, and local
councils – to talk about Labor’s policies on climate change and energy.
I’ve held around 50 sessions with different sectors, visiting a number
of the regions of Australia that are on the frontline in this transition
– the Collie Valley in WA, Latrobe Valley in Victoria, and the
Illawarra and Hunter in NSW.
The Labor Opposition was completely excluded
by Mr Abbott last year from his Government’s development of a 2030
emissions reduction target – a target that purported to cover future
Coalition and Labor Governments. When we were in government, by
contrast, we engaged the then Liberal Opposition about the Kyoto
Protocol targets in order to reach a bipartisan position. As a result,
we decided last year that it was proper for us to undertake our own
deliberative process. And we decided it was appropriate to use the
expert Climate Change Authority’s recommendations as the basis of our
consultations. As people broadly know, the Authority undertook a long,
public process to reach those final recommendations, including the
publication of a draft report.
My recent consultations have confirmed that
all stakeholders broadly accept the central element of the Paris
Agreement – that global warming must be kept to well below two degrees
Celsius. And they agree that Australia has a responsibility to do its
fair share to discharge that commitment.
It’s fair to say that there are different
views about what Australia’s emissions reduction target in 2030 should
be. Environment groups argue that our target should be for a 65-85%
emissions reduction on 2005 levels by 2030. Some other stakeholders –
mainly in business – argue instead that we should be more cautious than
ambitious; and that we should keep a sharp eye on what nations that
compete with Australia in heavy industry are doing. Most stakeholders,
though, wanted to spend the time we had in our sessions talking – not
about targets – but about how we’d get there. Those discussions and
debates about the design of effective climate change and energy policy
have been enormously influential in the policies we’ve announced today.
Sharing the Task Fairly with other Generations – Emission Reduction Targets
Labor is committed to ensuring that Australia
fulfills the promise made to future generations that we will do our
fair share of work to keep global warming well below two degrees
Celsius. That means putting in place long-term policies that ensure that
Australia produces net zero emissions by 2050.
It also means setting a credible – but
sufficiently ambitious – medium term target that ensures we don’t simply
hand all of the hard work to our children and grandchildren.
Australia’s action to cut pollution should be
consistent with other developed countries to which we usually compare
ourselves – like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and
the like. Many sectors of the Australian economy trade in global markets
against competitors in the developing world. That fact doesn’t mean we
shouldn’t compare our overall action with similar OECD nations, but it
does reinforce the need for intelligent policy design to support the
competitiveness of our emissions-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) sector.
Climate Change Authority advice demonstrates
that the Turnbull commitment to a 26-28% reduction on 2005 levels falls
short of those made by the US, UK, Canada, Germany and a number of
other European nations – in some cases, by a considerable margin. The
Climate Change Authority’s recommendation for a minimum 45% reduction
over that period is consistent with Germany and Norway, lower than the
UK, and higher than the US and Canada – although those two nations are
likely to increase their 2030 commitments. The Authority’s proposed
target would also see Australia’s per capita emissions in 2030 either
the highest or second highest among OECD nations, depending on the scale
of action ultimately pledged by Canada.
A Fair Share of Australia’s “Carbon Budget” Between Generations
Another – frankly more compelling – way of
expressing the link between future rates of carbon pollution and the
“two degree” threshold is the “carbon budget”. The world’s scientists
advise us that a likely chance of avoiding two degrees of global warming
depends on limiting the amount of carbon pollution released into the
atmosphere between 2000 and 2050 to no more than 1.7 trillion tonnes –
the global “carbon budget”.
The Climate Change Authority advises about 9
billion tonnes remains in Australia’s share of that “carbon budget” for
the period 2015 to 2050.
If Australia adopts the Climate Change
Authority’s minimum position for 2030, and that reduction starts
immediately, Australia by 2030 will have used about three quarters of
the 35 year “carbon budget” in just 15 years.
The position is even more pronounced with the
Turnbull target. In that case, Australia will have exhausted almost
85% of the 2050 budget - reinforcing the point that this decision is
ultimately one of burden-sharing between generations.
The less we do, the more we expect of our children!
Labor accepts the considered advice of the
Climate Change Authority that Australia’s emissions reduction target for
2030 should be 45% below 2005 levels; a reduction equivalent to 40% on
2015 levels. That medium term target is consistent with scientific
advice, comparable to other relevant nations and a fair contribution by
our generation towards the longer term target of achieving net zero
emissions by 2050.
We understand that our decision to adopt a
target different to Malcolm Turnbull presents some challenges. Unlike
Labor’s approach in relation to the 2020 target under the Kyoto
Protocol, Malcolm Turnbull made no attempt to engage the Labor
Opposition before lodging his target as the Australian position at the
Paris Conference.
The Paris Agreement establishes a
“facilitative dialogue” between 2018 and 2020 to review and update the
national targets. If elected, Labor will commission formal advice to
allow Australia’s 2030 target within the Paris Agreement to be increased
as part of that review process.
Labor’s Climate Change Action Plan
Today, Labor released a comprehensive plan to
combat climate change by getting Australia’s pollution levels back
under control and ensuring that Australian business and workers are in
the best position possible to benefit from the huge investment and job
opportunities that come from a renewable energy and clean technology
future. Labor’s policy is underpinned by our fundamental commitment to
fairness, ensuring that Australians are supported through this
transition and no one is left behind.
Our Climate Action Plan provides an ambitious
pathway for an orderly transition to a low pollution economy through
six key elements:
1. Making Australia a leading renewable energy economy -
ensuring that at least 50% of the nation’s electricity is sourced from
renewable energy by 2030, expanding the investment mandate of the CEFC,
and developing new community energy projects.
2. Cleaner power generation
- ensuring that the transition in Australia’s electricity generation
from old heavily polluting coal fired power stations to modern clean
energy is an orderly transition, with meaningful support for workers and
communities.
3. Building on Jobs and Industry
- maximising the job opportunities from clean energy and clean
technology, while also securing the future of critical Australian
industries through a Strategic Industries Task Force.
4. Cutting Pollution
– through an Emission Trading Scheme, placing a legal cap on the
emissions of the largest polluters through a “cap and offsets” scheme,
while supporting industry by ensuring access to international carbon
offsets.
5. Carbon Capture on the Land -
reinvigorating the Carbon Farming Initiative to encourage carbon
storage on the lend and in agriculture, and taking decisive action to
deal with broad-scale land clearing.
6. Higher Energy Productivity and Efficiency
– doubling Australia’s national energy productivity by 2030 and
introducing new emission standards for motor vehicles to cut pollution
on our roads.
A Renewable Energy Superpower Again
Labor’s commitment to ensure that at least
50% of the nation’s electricity is renewable by 2030 is central to our
ambition for Australia to reclaim its place among the top 5 renewable
energy nations in the world. We’ll consider international developments
in this policy area in detail before deciding on a mechanism for the
coming decade. For some time, I’ve been clear that we’re open to
mechanisms other than the retailer obligation that underpins the 2020
Renewable Energy Target. Legislation governing post-2020 arrangements
will be introduced to Parliament in late 2017. It will obviously be
designed in a way that does not disturb investor sentiment around the
delivery of the existing RET.
After failing in its attempts simply to
abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Government has sought
to hamper the Corporation’s work by imposing ridiculous restrictions on
its Mandate. Labor will remove those restrictions, returning the CEFC
to its original Mandate and lock it in for the full course of the next
term of Parliament. Labor will also continue the Clean Energy Innovation
Fund announced recently by Mr Turnbull.
In addition to the work allocated to ARENA
under the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, Labor will inject $200 million
for ARENA to undertake a specific Concentrated Solar Thermal round of
funding. This will obviously be of particular interest to the Re-Power
campaign in Port Augusta. But Solar Thermal is more broadly an important
emerging technology which allows storage of solar power for dispatch at
later, peak demand times. It is critically important that Australia
develop a capacity in this technology that allows the cost to come down
to a point that is economic without grant funding. Labor’s commitment
will allow that to happen in a way that Mr Turnbull’s Innovation Fund
will not.
While Australia has led the world in the
adoption of small-scale renewables – particularly rooftop PV solar
panels. There are real barriers to being a part of the solar revolution
for Australians in rental accommodation, social housing or
apartment-style living. It’s a basic question of equity for Labor that
we start to break down those barriers.
To that end, Labor in Government will create a
Community Power Network. The Network will oversee the development of
Community Power Hubs that will work in communities to support the
development of local projects to address local needs. Labor in
Government will also provide start-up funding to help kick-start clean
energy projects across Australia. Those projects could include ‘solar
gardens’ for renters, community renewable energy projects, energy
efficiency programs in social housing – and more.
And to directly drive investment in renewable
energy, a Labor Government will negotiate Power Purchase Agreements to
bring Commonwealth energy use up to 50% renewable energy by 2030.
Cleaning up the Power Sector
Electricity policy has been driven
historically by two overarching objectives; the reliability of supply
and affordability. But climate change and local pollution concerns have
now added a third public policy imperative – the carbon footprint. At
the same time, the traditional business model of large generators
dominating the system is being disrupted by innovations like rooftop
generation, as well as emerging storage options.
Most of Australia is covered by the National
Electricity Market (NEM) which was introduced through the 1990s. At the
time, there were only a couple of thousand households with PV solar
panels on their roof (compared to 1.5 million today) and negligible
generation from wind power in Australia. The long-standing dynamics of
the Australian market– growing demand and price stability - were still
in place. Understandably in those circumstances, the NEM architecture
and rules were built on the traditional drivers and assumptions of
electricity policy.
The NEM rules and operations are all driven
by the National Electricity Objective. And neither the overarching
Objective of the NEM, nor its rules, reflect in any way that third
driver of modern electricity policy – the imperative to cut carbon
pollution.
Accordingly, Labor in Government will
initiate a broad review of the NEM – the “Electricity Modernisation
Review” - to ensure that its Objective, rules and operations are
consistent with the needs of Australian consumers in the 21st
Century. In particular, that Review will ensure that the system takes
proper account of the need to decarbonise electricity generation - and
of modern trends in electricity, including distribution and storage. The
Review will also advise the Government on a longer-term framework for
the orderly transition from heavily polluting coal-fired power.
Labor will consult with the COAG Energy
Council, NEM agencies, the industry, unions and users about the conduct
of the Electricity Modernisation Review. The Review will commence by the
end of 2016 with its Report to be finalised within 12 months.
Labor has also decided that electricity
generators should be subject to arrangements separate from the rest of
the large emitters that will be covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Labor intends to implement the model proposed
last year by the Australian Energy Market Commission. Under the AEMC
model, each generator will be allocated a pollution “cap” that is
calculated according to a sector-wide emissions intensity baseline –
effectively reflecting an industry average. Cleaner generators will be
able to sell credits to those generators that operate above the
baseline. The scheme establishes a fully internalised market in carbon
which, according to the AEMC, will operate “without a significant effect
on absolute price levels faced by consumers”. That scheme will
commence on July 1 2018.
A “Just Transition” from Coal Fired Power
If Australia is to achieve its international
commitments to cut carbon pollution levels – and to achieve net zero
emissions by 2050 – it is essential to develop an orderly process to
decarbonise the electricity sector. This process requires an orderly
transition from heavily polluting coal-fired power to modern, clean
power sources – particularly renewable energy.
Labor will introduce a framework to kickstart
the closure of the older, heaviest polluting generators consistent with
the principles set out in our policy documents. Labor will also
develop a longer term framework to drive that transition, based on
advice from the Electricity Modernisation Review.
Labor will not use taxpayers money to pay electricity companies to close their generators.
Labor will develop a market based mechanism
to kickstart the closure of some of the oldest, most heavily polluting
plant. Such a mechanism was proposed last year by the ANU and has been
the subject of considerable attention within the industry.
A central principle of the Paris Agreement is
that Government must ensure that the transition to a clean energy
future is a “Just Transition” for impacted workers and communities. The
“Just Transition” commitment is consistent with Labor’s longstanding
approach to dealing with the impact of economic change on workers and
communities, exemplified by the Hawke and Keating Governments. The Labor
mission has always been – not just about breaking down the structural
inequalities in society – but also ensuring that the big transitions
that inevitably emerge are managed in a way that doesn’t leave
particular groups behind; and ensures that everyone gets a chance at the
opportunities that come with change. This transition will impact some
communities deeply; just ask the people of Port Augusta and Leigh Creek.
Labor will stand by those communities and workers.
Labor will establish a Just Transition Unit
in Government to co-ordinate the work of different Commonwealth agencies
around the implementation of that element of the Paris Agreement. The
Unit’s work will focus initially on transition in the electricity
sector, and will draw on advice from a tripartite Council that brings
together governments (including local government), industry and unions.
Our policy document set out some principles that will guide Labor’s approach to employment impacts from this transition.
“Just Transition” also demands a proactive
program of economic diversification for impacted regions and
communities. Labor will work with relevant State and Local Governments
and business to develop these programs – which will be factored in to
the market-based approach to orderly closure proposed by the ANU.
Labor’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
Perhaps the central problem with Malcolm
Turnbull’s Direct Action policy is its failure to provide any control or
discipline on Australia’s largest polluters. Around the world, country
after country has demonstrated that the most efficient and effective way
to achieve those cuts in pollution is through an ETS that caps emission
levels – and then lets business work out the cheapest and most
effective way to operate within that cap.
Consistent with our long-standing policy
position, Labor will introduce an Emissions Trading Scheme with two
distinct phases. The first phase is designed to get Australia’s
pollution levels back under control and to establish the architecture
for an enduring ETS. The second phase will then drive the long-term
transition in our economy. As I explained earlier, the electricity
generation sector will be subject to a separate, ongoing scheme
developed by the AEMC.
The first phase of the ETS will impose a
“cap” on carbon pollution produced by entities emitting more than 25,000
tonnes per year. This “cap” will reflect an appropriate proportion of
the limits on pollution required to achieve the bipartisan commitment to
ensure that carbon pollution levels in 2020 are 5% lower than 2000.
These arrangements will be finalised in Government and implemented by
the Clean Energy Regulator (CER).
Phase one of Labor’s ETS will reflect a “cap
and offsets” model. No price will be imposed by Government on carbon
pollution under this phase. Liable entities will not be required to
purchase or receive permits to operate. But, where a liable entity
breaches or exceeds its “cap”, it will be required to provide the CER
with an equivalent number of “carbon offsets” for that year. The CER
will publish rules governing the types of offsets that are eligible
under phase one, including access to international offsets approved
under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism as well as Australian offsets
approved through mechanisms like a reinvigorated Carbon Farming
Initiative.
Given that Australia’s emissions intensive,
trade-exposed – or EITE - sector competes in vigorous global markets,
those companies will be allowed unlimited access to approved
international offsets under phase one of the ETS. This
“cap and offsets” model will limit any effective carbon price for EITE
businesses that breach their cap to a small fraction of a dollar per
tonne of pollution.
Labor will introduce an ongoing Emissions
Trading Scheme from 1 July 2020. Under phase two of Labor’s ETS,
pollution levels will be capped and cut over the course of the decade in
line with Australia’s international commitments under the Paris
Agreement.
The design of the 2020 ETS will be finalised
during the 2016-2019 Parliament, to commence after the 2019 election.
Those details will include rules governing the allocation of caps to
liable entities, access to international markets (including the
possibility of formal linkage to other schemes), the operation of the
domestic offsets market and the like. The design process will also
include advice from the Strategic Industries Taskforce.
Securing Jobs in a Clean Energy Future
There are important strategic reasons for
Australia continuing to have a domestic capability in industries like
steel-making, cement, aluminium and others. These industries are highly
trade-exposed – competing in the main with developing countries like
China. And many don’t have a technological change on the horizon that
will substantially reduce their inherent emissions intensity. No global
environmental purpose is served by those operations simply closing in
Australia and being picked up by another nation.
Labor will establish a Strategic
Industries Taskforce to undertake in-depth engagement with those
industries to identify options to support their future competitiveness.
The Taskforce will provide advice to government grounded in practical
industry thinking and tailored to the unique needs of each sector -
seeking to blend the objectives of maintaining a vibrant industry base
in Australia with our national emissions reduction task. The
recommendations of the Taskforce will then help inform the design and
rules for the Emissions Trading Scheme commencing in 2020.
Responsible Management of our Land Sector
Australia only achieved our first commitment
under the Kyoto Protocol because of a huge reduction in land sector
emissions. Australia’s land sector emissions were around 135 million
tonnes in 1990 or around one quarter of the national total. By 2014,
they had plummeted to just 14mt. That huge reduction was overwhelmingly
due to land clearing restrictions introduced in Queensland by Peter
Beattie and Anna Bligh (supported by John Howard who understood the
benefits in achieving the Kyoto commitment).
While Campbell Newman had promised to retain
those land clearing laws, he reneged on that promise shortly after
taking office. Following the Newman Government’s repeal of Labor’s
reforms, clearing in Queensland jumped more than threefold. The
Queensland Auditor-General has reported that clearing in the Great
Barrier Reef catchment areas increased by 230%, with obvious
implications for run-off onto the Reef as well as carbon emissions.
Those reductions in land sector emissions in
Queensland underpinned a substantial part of Australia’s international
commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The unpicking of those reforms by
the Newman Government had a direct impact on the treaty obligations the
Commonwealth undertook on behalf of the nation.
Labor will introduce a “climate trigger” in
federal legislation to allow the Commonwealth to regulate broad-scale
land clearing across the nation. In relation to Queensland, our
intention is to restore the land-clearing laws that were in place before
the election of the Newman Government – reflecting the policy of the
Palaszczuk Government.
Labor will also explore other ways of
ensuring that State land clearing laws are consistent with Australia’s
international obligations and commitments; including by re-invigorating
COAG’s National Vegetation Management Framework. That will require the
adoption of consistent reporting of land and tree clearing across
States, in line with best practice in this area – which has
traditionally been the Queensland SLATS Scheme verified by field
reporting.
Doubling Australia’s Energy Productivity and Efficiency
Energy Efficiency - or Productivity - is
often described as the “fifth fuel” - after coal, gas, nuclear and
renewable energy. Strong performance in this area has multiple benefits;
cutting pollution, reducing costs for households and business, and
improving the overall productivity of the nation’s economy.
Australia’s energy productivity improvements
in recent years have been poor, against both OECD and G20 averages. Over
the past two decades, for example, China has improved its energy
productivity twice as fast as Australia. We currently sit in the bottom
quartile of OECD nations on this important economic measure.
In December, the Turnbull Government
announced a weak plan to improve Australia’s national energy
productivity by just 40% from 2015 to 2030. Such a target would see
Australia slip even further behind our global competitors. President
Obama, by contrast, has introduced a plan for the United States to
double its energy productivity between 2010 and 2030. And an Alliance of
business groups and NGOs has called for Australia to match that
ambition - an Alliance that includes some of Australia’s most important
business voices, such as the BCA, ACCI, AIG, AGL, Lend Lease and others.
Labor will introduce a comprehensive strategy
to double Australia’s energy productivity by 2030 on 2010 levels. This
Strategy will build on the COAG Energy Council’s National Energy
Productivity Plan and draw on the work of the Alliance, Local Government
and other groups.
Cutting Pollution on our Roads with Cleaner Cars
An important part of improving energy productivity is found on our roads.
Australia is now one of the last developed
nations without mandatory emissions standards on light vehicles. Car
companies are able to sell dirtier versions of their global brands in
Australia than they can in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. That needs
to change.
Labor will introduce mandatory light vehicle
emission standards, consistent with advice from the Climate Change
Authority. Those standards will be phased-in from 2018 and will cut the
emissions intensity for all light vehicles by almost one half - by 2025.
The Authority’s advice is contained in a 2014 Report and aligns with
standards being introduced by President Obama in the United States. In
my consultations with industry and automobile associations, a consensus
view was put that the American standards were more appropriate to the
nature of the Australian vehicle fleet than the European standards. We
have accepted that view.
The Authority predicts that these changes would:
· Deliver fuel savings of $830 in the first year
· Save $8,500 in fuel costs over the life of the car, with a net lifetime saving of $7000
In addition to introducing light vehicle
standards, Labor will put in place policies to encourage the growth of
low emissions vehicles such as those powered by electricity or Hydrogen.
And to drive better energy productivity in
large infrastructure, Anthony Albanese announced in March that a Shorten
Labor government would toughen assessment of proposed major
infrastructure projects by requiring the incorporation of smart
infrastructure technology and sustainability measures before projects
qualify for Commonwealth funding.
Conclusion
Labor has thought deeply about this policy –
and we’ve consulted deeply, with all stakeholders, across a broad range
of industries, viewpoints and regions. We’ve obviously also reflected on
our previous two attempts to introduce reform in this area. Our first
attempt – the CPRS – was stymied by a leadership coup in the Liberal
Party room, followed by an unusual alliance between Tony Abbott and Bob
Brown in the Senate. Our second attempt got through the Parliament, only
to be repealed by Mr Abbott within two years. We’ve reflected on
mistakes Labor made in the design and the presentation of those reforms.
An almost universal plea from business in our
consultations was for there to be greater consensus and investor
certainty in this policy space. Many climate and environmental
organisations have made the same plea. There is, I think, a quiet
recognition that the consensus that existed until Mr Turnbull was
replaced as Liberal leader in 2009 was not just broken in the Parliament
– that business, the media and others played a role too.
There is almost no democracy in the world
which has a strong climate policy, where it is not underpinned by broad
bipartisan support. The scale of change required by the commitments our
nation has made in the Paris Agreement demands a greater level of
consensus than has existed in the past three Parliaments. Investors will
not put money on the table to drive those changes if they think that
legislative reform is a swinging pendulum.
Labor is putting a Climate Change Action Plan
before the Australian people that will get Australia back on to the
path to a clean energy future; but it’s also the type of Plan that
Malcolm Turnbull should embrace – forging the consensus for change we
need in this country instead of kow-towing to the Abbott-right in the
Liberal Party. In his heart, Mr Turnbull knows that Direct Action isn’t
working, that he needs a plan for renewable energy to grow beyond 2020,
and that we need to get broad-scale land clearing back under control.
Ultimately, though, that’s a matter for Mr
Turnbull to work through. Whatever he decides to do – Labor will make
our case loudly and consistently for a strong Climate Change Action Plan
for Australia.
© Mark Butler. Authorised by Mark Butler 15 Semaphore Road, Semaphore SA 5019 
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