Australian Carbon Emission Trading Scheme "First step in change"
6 replies, posted
[quote]
AUSTRALIAN Greens leader Christine Milne yesterday hailed the carbon tax as an opportunity, not a sacrifice.
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Senator Milne said in Hobart the carbon price and the Clean Energy Future Package, which came into effect yesterday, would be seen by Australians as a starting gun for long-awaited changes.
She said Australians, many of whom had endured floods, droughts and bushfires, were well ahead of Parliament on carbon reduction.
"People are ready to drive the transformation away from coal-fired power into renewables," she said.
Senator Milne said the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee was promoting the quickest ways to reduce emissions and she expected this to happen sooner than many anticipated.
"The community will relax into it, we'll be asking what was that all about," she said.
But Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said the carbon tax would be an economic ball and chain.
"It will impact on every productive area of the Tasmanian economy," he said.
Senator Milne said any attempt by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to axe the carbon tax and take back compensation would be a shambles.
Both she and Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Mr Abbott would not be able to repeal the tax.
Tasmanian Labor Senator Carol Brown said: "From today, big polluters will pay for the carbon they emit and a large part of that money will be used to provide assistance to households."
State Climate Change Minister Cassy O'Connor said Tasmania needed to grab its share of funding to support renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon farming.
"Tasmania has an opportunity to be a leader in taking advantage of this major Australian Government economic reform, to establish ourselves as a centre of excellence in remote renewable energy, and develop the significant job potential to be realised for our State," Ms O'Connor said.
SUMMARY OF HOUSEHOLD ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS
FAMILIES:
• More than 1.6 million families have received a lump sum payment in their bank accounts.
• Families on Family Tax Benefit Part A received up to $110 per child.
• Families on Family Tax Benefit Part B received up to $69.
• Families will start receiving a boost to their regular payments from July 2013.
PENSIONERS:
• About 3.2 million pensioners have received a lump sum payment in their bank account.
• Recipients of the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment received $250 for singles and $380 for couples combined.
• Pensioners will receive a permanent boost to their regular payments from March 2013.
SELF-FUNDED RETIREES:
• More than 280,000 self-funded retirees who hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card have received a lump sum payment along with their quarterly Seniors Supplement.
• Eligible self-funded retirees have received $250 for singles and $380 for couples combined.
• Eligible self-funded retirees will receive a boost to their regular quarterly Seniors Supplement from June 2013.
VETERANS AND DEFENCE COMMUNITY:
• More than 200,000 service pensioners, DVA age pensioners and war widow/ers over age pension age have received a lump sum payment in their bank account.
• They have received a payment of $250 for singles and $380 for couples combined.
• They will receive a boost to their regular payments from March 2013.
• Another 112,000 members of the veteran and defence community (such as DVA Disability pensioners and Seniors Supplement recipients) have also received a lump sum payment ranging from $140 to $380.)
STUDENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN TRAINING:
• More than 315,000 students and young people in training have received a lump sum payment in their bank account.
• People on Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY have received a payment of up to $190.
• They will receive another lump sum payment in July 2013, and will begin receiving a boost to their regular payments from January 2014.
JOBSEEKERS:
• About 620,000 jobseekers have received a lump sum payment in their bank account.
• Newstart recipients have received up to $180 for singles and $300 for couples combined.
• Other income support recipients (such as Parenting Payment Partnered and Widow Allowees) have received a lump sum payment ranging from $150 to $210. Parenting Payment Single recipients will receive $210
• They will receive a boost to their regular payments from March 2013.
Source:
[URL]http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/07/02/342001_tasmania-news.html[/URL]
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It's going to be an interesting development.
Economists say this is the best way to deal with carbon emissions, and I think that it's a step in the right direction.
[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;36577326]Economists say this is the best way to deal with carbon emissions, and I think that it's a step in the right direction.[/QUOTE]
Yet our right has portrayed it as "OH FUCK EVERYTHING IS GOING TO DIE", and because now tax is a dirty word, 66% of people do not want it.
I mean christ, price of living will only increase if companies do nothing, if they invest in cleaner alternatives, they will not get hit. If they do not pollute or very little, they will not get hit.
I mean like how is this bad, the rise in prices forces people to go, these is expensive I need to go elsewhere, economics 101.
[QUOTE=Chevron;36583953]
I mean christ, price of living will only increase if companies do nothing, if they invest in cleaner alternatives, they will not get hit. If they do not pollute or very little, they will not get hit.
I mean like how is this bad, the rise in prices forces people to go, these is expensive I need to go elsewhere, economics 101.[/QUOTE]
lol what? So I guess there is magical clean energy sources at a price comparable to the extremely cheap fossil fuel industry in Australia. They just haven't switched because they are evil corporations that want to destroy the planet....... "if they invest in cleaner alternatives, they will not get hit"? The whole point of artificially inflating the price of the CO2 emitting energy is to make the cleaner alternatives artificially viable. So yay, they switch to cleaner energy and instead they pay 15% more instead of 18%.
-edit- Also as far as I am aware the current price per tonne is not enough to make the coal/gas industry more expensive than alternative sources anyway (coal/gas in Aust is very cheap by world standards I believe), I am pretty sure even the greens say that it has to be a lot higher before it will force companies to switch. If that is the case, no one will switch and all it will do is raise prices.
It's not going to be as bad as all the right wingers make it out to be, but it IS going to have an impact on our already globally uncompetitive country and it will do fuck all for the environment unless the rest of the world followed suit (hint, that wont happen)
^ Yeah but at the apocalypse we get that smug sense of self-satisfaction
[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;36577326]Economists say this is the best way to deal with carbon emissions, and I think that it's a step in the right direction.[/QUOTE]
it doesn't work when those industries punished pass the costs on to customers, it's just another tax under the carbon guise
the hidden industry costs are not observed by the all just yet
for example refrigerant gasses went up in price significantly Australia since july 1st,
the most common gas (r404a) went from being $92.88/kg to $377.71/kg - these are usually sold in 20kg and 50kg sizes
if you think this isn't going to be factored into the cost of everything, you're in for a bit of a rude shock
every building you enter is air conditioned and most things you consume are refrigerated, this is only one of the many less visible industry changes to cost and pricing
[QUOTE=Stronts;36584563]lol what? So I guess there is magical clean energy sources at a price comparable to the extremely cheap fossil fuel industry in Australia. They just haven't switched because they are evil corporations that want to destroy the planet....... "if they invest in cleaner alternatives, they will not get hit"? The whole point of artificially inflating the price of the CO2 emitting energy is to make the cleaner alternatives artificially viable. So yay, they switch to cleaner energy and instead they pay 15% more instead of 18%.
-edit- Also as far as I am aware the current price per tonne is not enough to make the coal/gas industry more expensive than alternative sources anyway (coal/gas in Aust is very cheap by world standards I believe), I am pretty sure even the greens say that it has to be a lot higher before it will force companies to switch. If that is the case, no one will switch and all it will do is raise prices.
It's not going to be as bad as all the right wingers make it out to be, but it IS going to have an impact on our already globally uncompetitive country and it will do fuck all for the environment unless the rest of the world followed suit (hint, that wont happen)[/QUOTE]
Didn't say there was, you close the gap between the prices it makes people more likely to do the right thing. Say that just because the prices did not rise enough, so no one will swap is silly.
They are paying on amount of pollution, they reduce pollution, they do not get hit as much, full stop.
Like I said above, you are closing the gap.
And yes it is not going to be bad.
We are uncompetitive because of what our economy is built upon, resources.
If you make better goods, you become more competitive.
Oh really now: [code]
CHINA (state-based action)
China is planning a carbon tax on big energy consumers by 2015, and it's likely the cost of each tonne of CO2 will be $US1.55. Some states have already introduced a carbon tax.
UNITED STATES (state-based action)
There is no nationwide carbon tax levelled in the USA, although a few states have introduced the tax. Colorado passed a carbon tax in November 2006. California has a carbon tax of 4.4 cents per tonne of CO2. In Maryland, a tonne of CO2 is worth 3.97€ from a source emitting more than a million tonnes of carbon dioxide during that year.
CANADA (province-based action)
Canada does not have a federal carbon tax, but some Canadian provinces do have carbon taxes. The provinces of Quebec and Alberta introduced a carbon tax in 2007. British Columbia introduced a tax of 7.94€ per tonne of CO2 in July 2010.
INDIA (tax on coal)
In July 2010, India introduced a nationwide carbon tax of 50 rupees per tonne (0.85€) of coal both produced and imported to India.
SOUTH KOREA introduced a national carbon tax in 2008.
JAPAN currently does not have a carbon tax but it's planning to implement one.
EUROPE (national-based action)
A carbon tax was proposed by the European Commission in 2010, but a carbon tax has not been agreed upon by the 27 member states. The current proposal by the European Commission would charge firms between 4 and 30 euros per metric tonne of CO2.
The European Union enacted an emissions trading scheme in 2005 which places a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide that can be emitted by big polluters. It operates in the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Their current target is a 21 per cent cut of 2005 emissions by 2025 (Australia’s is a 5% cut of 2000 emissions by 2020).
Several European countries have enacted a carbon tax. They include: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
FINLAND
Finland introduced the world’s first carbon tax in 1990, initially with exemptions for specific sectors. Manly changes were later introduced, such as a border tax on imported electricity. Natural gas has a reduced tax rate, while peat was exempted between 2005 and 2010. In 2010, Finland’s price on carbon was €20 per tonne of CO2.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands introduced a carbon tax in 1990, which was then replaced by a tax on fuels. In 2007, it introduced a carbon-based tax on packaging, to encourage recycling.
SWEDEN
In 1991, Sweden enacted a tax on the use of coal, oil, natural gas, petrol and aviation fuel used in domestic travel. The tax was 0.25 SEK/kg ($US100 per tonne of C02) and was later raised to $US150. With Sweden raising prices on fossil fuels since enacting the carbon tax, it cut its carbon pollution by 9 per cent between 1990 and 2006.
NORWAY
In 1991, Norway introduced a tax on carbon. However its carbon emissions increased by 43 per cent per capita between 1991 and 2008.
DENMARK
Since 2002, Denmark has had a carbon tax of 100 DKK per metric ton of CO2, equivalent to approximately 13 Euros or 14.3€. Denmark’s carbon tax applies to all energy users, but industrial companies are taxed differently depending on the process the energy is used for, and whether or not the company has entered into a voluntary agreement to apply energy efficiency measures.
SWITZERLAND
A carbon incentive tax was introduced in Switzerland in 2008. It includes all fossil fuels, unless they are used for energy. Swiss companies can be exempt from the tax if they participate in the country’s emissions trading system. The tax amounts to CHF 36 per metric tonne CO2.
UK
In 1993, the UK government introduced a tax on retail petroleum products, to reduce emissions in the transport sector. The UK's Climate Change Levy was introduced in 2001.
IRELAND
A tax on oil and gas came into effect in 2010. It was estimated to add around €43 to filling a 1000 litre oil tank and €41 to the average annual gas bill.
COSTA RICA
In 1997, Costa Rica enacted a tax on carbon pollution, set at 3.5 per cent of the market value of fossil fuels. The revenue raised from this goes into a national forest fund which pays indigenous communities for protecting the forests around them.
[URL]http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1492651/Factbox-Carbon-taxes-around-the-world[/URL]
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Yea we are in this alone.
The more countries that do something, the more will follow, world leaders are bloody sheep with new ideas, nobody wants to be first.
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