Despite all of the wild rhetoric and doomsday predictions, the introduction of the Clean Energy Future Package on July 1 this year hasn't led to the downfall of the Australian economy,the parliamentary secretary for climate change and energy efficiency, Mark Dreyfus, said today.
Delivering the keynote address at the Australasian Carbon Expo 2012 in Melbourne, Dreyfus listed some of the success stories of the Clean Energy Bill.
This includes a piggery in NSW which is creating enough electricity to power its entire operations by capturing and converting methane from pig manure and, a plastics company Qenos has installed a co-generation plant that is meeting all of its electricity requirements and cutting carbon pollution by 100,000 tonnes a year.
Dreyfus said manufacturing companies are now competing to produce increasingly energy smart appliances with 10 star fridges and 8 star TVs are becoming mainstream.
"Four months since the start of the carbon price Australia’s economy remains in robust health," he said.
"There is also evidence the Clean Energy Future package is already contributing to a cleaner economy.
"We know climate change is happening. The consensus among the scientific community is clear and the science compels us to respond as part of a global effort to cut carbon pollution.
"As a result of the carbon price, capital is allocated to improve efficiency and reduce emissions intensity. Over time, the most efficient, least polluting businesses have an advantage over less efficient, higher polluting competitors," he said.
"To sit tight and do nothing would be grossly irresponsible. Apart from prolonging environmental damage, delaying real action would cost our economy dearly."
For the first three years, the carbon price will be fixed, starting at $23 a tonne.
In August this year the Government secured an agreement to link Australia's carbon price with the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.
This means that from July 2015 Australia's carbon price will reflect the carbon price in Europe, the largest carbon market in the world.
The government is also working with counterparts in the US, NZ and throughout the Asia-Pacific region to build an integrated and robust global carbon market.
"By next year, 850 million people will be living in a country, state or city with an emissions trading scheme," Dreyfus said.
"Countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland have already acted.
"Carbon trading is also operating at the sub-national level in the United States, Canada and Brazil."
Japan introduced a carbon tax earlier this year and Korea's emissions trading scheme will commence in 2015.
While California and Quebec will commence emissions trading next year,China is developing pilot emissions trading schemes in seven cities and provinces to commence in 2013.
Dreyfus said countries like Thailand and Chile are also considering market based approaches and carbon prices to reduce pollution.
"In fact, 94 per cent of OECD members have or are implementing emissions trading at the national or sub-national level," he said.
"Since the details of the carbon price were announced in 2011, Australia’s economy has grown three per cent, household consumption is up three per cent and new business investment is up twenty per cent – the biggest comparable lift in investment in 17 years.
"The IMF's October 2012 World Economic Outlook shows that Australia is now the world's 12th largest economy and has leapfrogged three places ahead under this government after slipping back three places under the previous government," Dreyfus said.
"The Treasury estimated the impact on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of introducing emissions trading under a $23 fixed price to be around 0.7 per cent."
Dreyfus said the early signs are that the carbon price is proving itself to be environmentally effective.
"We are already seeing electricity generation becoming less pollution-intensive," he said.
Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) show the emissions intensity of electricity generated for the National Electricity Market has fallen since June this year.
Reaching Australia’s emissions reduction target of 5 per cent below 2000 levels involves permanently taking over 700 million tonnes of carbon pollution out of the atmosphere between now and 2020.
To reach our 2050 objective of 80 per cent below 2000 levels requires reductions of over 17 billion tonnes.
"Tony Abbott, continues to insist that climate change is absolute crap and radio broadcaster Alan Jones tells people it is witchcraft," Dreyfus said.
