E&OE….
Topics: Climate change, Emissions Reduction Fund, Renewable Energy Target
CHRIS UHLMANN:
At least superficially, both major parties are committed to action on climate change. Both share the ambition to cut the nation’s carbon emissions over the next six years by 5 per cent below what they were in the year 2000 and Australia has made a pledge to the world that it will hit that mark. But right now, there’s no mechanism in place to do it.
Labor’s still talking about developing a market system for cutting carbon and the Coalition’s Direct Action Plan is hung up in the Senate. The man charged with making sure Australia meets its international commitments is Greg Hunt, the Environment Minister. Good morning.
GREG HUNT:
Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Greg Hunt, we’ve just heard a report this morning that plants are absorbing more Co2 than previously thought. Is there any area of public policy that invests so much on computer modelling of the future?
GREG HUNT:
Look, obviously there are many areas which have very significant contributions, but we have just made a major investment in a new super computer for the Bureau of Meteorology because of the importance to public safety, because of the importance to farmers, because of the importance to economic development and, in particular, because of the importance to climate research.
It’s very important for Australia to have the world’s best data and to have the world’s best meteorology service. This is all part of what you do as a Government. Interestingly, it wasn’t funded by the previous Government; they hadn’t provided the money. We are.
CHRIS UHLMANN:
And you’re convinced still that climate change is one of the world’s great problems?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I think the world has two enormous challenges which sit side by side. One is to bring hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and electricity and gas and the capacity to have energy are fundamental to that. The other is to reduce emissions, absolutely. Whether it’s the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology or international sources of comparable credibility, the view is overwhelming and my view and our view is overwhelming: climate change is real and important and significant.
That’s why we’re taking action but reject the Bill Shorten approach of higher electricity prices which only yesterday he’s reaffirmed they’re pledging to do through bringing a carbon tax. We’ve seen prices come down relative to what they would have been. Well, they’ll bring it back.
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Well you’re in Government, Bill Shorten isn’t. We’re yet to actually see the shape of their policies, so how can you meet your pledge to cut carbon emissions without any mechanism in place to do it?
GREG HUNT:
Well we will achieve our targets and Australia is interested in doing extremely well against our targets, but the way we do that is very simple. Instead of a carbon tax which drives up electricity prices, which doesn’t achieve its outcomes because it was a fundamental failure in actually reducing emissions in any meaningful way, what we want to do is directly clean things up.
Now, we have $2.5 billion for an Emissions Reduction Fund which has passed through the House and the Senate. We now have enabling legislation which has passed through the House and which is before the Senate, and I am very hopeful that in the next sitting fortnight we’ll have that…
CHRIS UHLMANN:
But you will have to compromise, won’t you? You will have to compromise and one of the compromises that you’ve been offered is by Nick Xenophon who says that you should buy carbon credits offshore. Are you considering that?
GREG HUNT:
We will work with all of the crossbenchers and we’re happy to work with the ALP or The Greens in actually making sure that we reduce emissions in Australia; that we reduce emissions by cleaning up power stations, by cleaning up waste coal mine gas. The irony of the carbon tax was that they gave $5.5 billion to brown coal producers…
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Certainly. If we could just focus on what you plan to do, though – are you considering buying carbon credits offshore?
GREG HUNT:
Look, at this point our focus, our intention, our goal is to reduce emissions in Australia. We have always set out that we want to be cleaning things up by encouraging energy efficiency on a grand scale, and the other thing here is for the ALP to stand in the way of $2.5 billion to do practical things to reduce the cost of living for families, to decrease emissions in Australia seems a very perverse position.
So, I would invite not just the ALP and The Greens and the crossbenchers to sit with us over the next two weeks to ensure that we get a world’s best practice Emissions Reduction Fund through.
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Ok. When will we see the Government’s response to the Warburton Review on the Renewable Energy Target?
GREG HUNT:
So we’ve already said that our goal is two-fold here. One is to ensure that we continue to take the pressure of electricity prices. Again, there is a different approach. The ALP’s goal is to drive up electricity prices, ours is to help bring them down, and at the same time we want to ensure that there is a decrease in any impacts on manufacturing and…
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Sure. How will you do that? Will you cut the Renewable Energy Target?
GREG HUNT:
…provide long-term certainty for the renewable energy sector…
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Minister, what will your response be though? Are you going to cut the Renewable Energy Target?
GREG HUNT:
Well, our bipartisan approach over many years has been towards a 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target. Our position has not changed on that and we have entered into discussions with the ALP. We have a significant way to go, but whereas they want to drive up the price of electricity elsewhere, the early signs are that they are willing to work with us, but we have to meet in the middle on this.
Our goal is simple: long-term sustainability for the renewable sector, but taking pressure off families, job, power prices and manufacturing. The international data that everyone recognises, you can get a good long-term Renewable Energy Target focussed on the balanced centre, but we have to sit down with others.
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Ok. So will you combine with Labor to exempt the aluminium industry from the Renewable Energy Target?
GREG HUNT:
Unless we sit down together, unless we work on this, the Australian Industry Group has made it clear that there will be massive pressure on Australian manufacturing jobs.
So, we are already sitting down with the ALP, I’m understandably not pre-empting any of the formal discussions, but we want to achieve an outcome for Australian manufacturing which is under enormous pressure and an outcome which helps families and an outcome which ensures there’s long-term sustainability in the sector.
But, we do this by taking the pressure off electricity prices rather than what Bill Shorten has announced over the last 24 and 48 hours of a new carbon tax on manufacturing.
CHRIS UHLMANN:
Greg Hunt, we’ll have to leave it there. Thank you.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks very much, Chris.
(ENDS)