In 2001, Australia's federal environment agency issued a discussion paper on a product stewardship strategy for electrical and electronic appliances. Last Friday, more than seven years on, Australia's environment ministers – five of them new to the ministerial environment council – set a 2009 deadline for actually deciding what to do.
As the release of a much-anticipated Treasury analysis of the economic effects of various emissions trajectories draws tantalisingly close, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong on Friday released details of the underpinning assumptions.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and state and territory leaders yesterday agreed to develop a national energy efficiency strategy and to expedite development of 'consistent' regulations for carbon capture and storage. Meanwhile, South Australian Premier Mike Rann lobbies for new commercial buildings to be 'zero carbon' by 2019.
The Rudd Government should impose a 10% levy on coal exports to raise $5 billion a year for clean coal technology and governments of the world should accompany an international post-2012 climate change agreement with a 'parallel treaty' on atmospheric cleansing, according to Tim Flannery.
Professor Ross Garnaut this morning handed to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd an all-embracing set of policy proposals to combat climate change. Garnaut warned that a failure by this generation to deal with climate change 'would haunt humanity until the end of time'.
In a Senate committee report issued yesterday, maverick Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan and Greens Senator Christine Milne continued their unlikely alliance opposing legislation that has provided a tax break for carbon sink forests. But Labor senators insisted the move constituted a 'valuable' policy tool to reduce levels of greenhouse gases.
Labor members of a Senate committee inquiry into carbon capture and storage legislation that reported yesterday say the government shouldn't take-on long-term liability for leaks. But Coalition senators say it would be more 'practical' if it did, while the Greens want companies to pay a bond sufficient to cover all future risks. The Government must win either Coalition or Greens support to get the bill through the Senate.
