Australia Rejects Emissions Trading Bill, Strikes Deal to Pass Federal Renewable Standard
Australia’s parliament rejected a government-backed plan last week that would have forced the country’s worst 1,000 polluters to buy carbon dioxide permits covering 75% of national emissions to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5% to 25% by 2020. The government struck a deal with opponents today (Aug. 19), however, to mandate that 20% of the country’s energy will be produced from renewable sources by 2020.
Conservative opponents and the Greens Party defeated the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) bill by 42 votes to 30. According to Bloomberg, the Greens Party wanted tougher emissions targets, while conservatives had opposed the program in its entirety. Business and trade groups had strongly voiced opposition to the program, saying Australia would be disadvantaged if other nations did not act on climate change. They called to delay the bill until after global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen this December.
If the bill had passed, the nation’s power generation sector would have been hardest hit—more than 80% of Australia’s electricity supply is derived from coal-fired generation. From 2006 to 2007, the remaining 12% was produced from natural gas, 6% came from hydropower, and less than 1% was generated from oil and other fuels.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Labour government reportedly said that it would push for reconsideration of the bill in three months, according to Australian Network News. If it is rejected a second time, it could trigger a dissolution of parliament before its three-year term has ended and lead to a “snap election” as early as December—one that would favor the Rudd government.
Rudd last week denied “playing politics” with the government’s emissions trading program, The Australian reported. "I have not the slightest intention of going to an early poll,” he told Fairfax radio on Friday.
The government reportedly struck a deal with the conservative opposition today—after days of negotiations—to mandate that 20% of the nation’s power will come from renewable sources by 2020. The agreement raises the possibility that the emissions trading bill will return to parliament by November, Reuters reported.
The Senate will formally vote on the measure on Thursday. If passed, the renewable laws will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2010, with a goal of producing 45,000 GWh of renewable energy—or 20%—by 2020. The target matches one set by the EU two years ago.
Sources: Bloomberg, Australian Network News, The Australian, Reuters