Right: Canadian environmental activist and scientist David Suzuki: "Our politicians lie through their teeth".
Arguments in favour of Australia introducing a carbon tax
1. A carbon tax has not harmed other economies
It has been claimed that those countries that have already adopted a carbon tax have not been economically harmed as a consequence.
David Suzuki is a Japanese-Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist who, until his retirement, was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia. David Suzuki has stated, 'I say, look at Sweden . . . Sweden in 1991 initiated a carbon tax. Today they pay $150 a tonne. That's a hell of a lot of money. But they have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent. The Swedish economy has grown, grown by 44 per cent. So what the hell is going on? Our politicians lie through their teeth.'
The same point has been made by Paul Elkins, professor of Energy and Environment Policy at the University College London. Professor Elkins had claimed that in a in a Europe-wide study on the competitiveness effects of a carbon tax, 'We could not find any effects on competitiveness on these taxes at all. We looked at it every which way . . . They really have not appeared to have any effect on the energy intensive industrial sectors at all.'
Professor Tim Flannery is an Australian paleontologist, environmentalist and global warming activist. Professor Flannery has similarly claimed that other countries that have introduced a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme have not been damaged economically. Professor Flannery has suggested that anyone worried about a carbon tax's impact on the Australian economy needs to contact those running businesses in Europe under a carbon tax. The Professor's own contacts with European businesses have made him confident of the lack of adverse effects. Professor Flannery has urged, 'Just pick up the phone. Not one business reported a demonstrated impact on their bottom line. Not one.'
Referring specifically to what might be expected for the Australian economy, John Connor, the chief executive of the Climate Institute, has stated, 'All of the models have shown that even with significant reductions in pollution ... that virtually all sectors of the community will continue to grow.'
2. A carbon tax will create jobs
It has been claimed that a carbon tax will encourage new industries which will in turn create jobs.
A new report from the Climate Institute was released on February 28, 2011. The report claims that a price on carbon could create 34,000 new jobs in the renewable energy sector in regional Australia over the next two decades.
The chief executive of the Climate Institute, John Connor, has claimed that a price on pollution coupled with the renewable energy target would lead to thousands of jobs in every state in the solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and natural gas industries. Mr Connor has suggested, 'By 2030 almost 43 per cent of Australia's electricity could be produced from clean energy, up from about 12 per cent currently.' These new, clean energy sources will all create jobs.
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has stated, 'If we don't change as the world moves, we could get stuck with an old fashioned high carbon pollution economy and not have the jobs of the future.'
Also referring to the creation of jobs in the future, the leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, stated on February 2, 2011, 'The burning of fossil fuels is creating a potential five-to-20 per cent loss of income for our children and our grandchildren.'
The Prime Minister has stated that the plan of the Opposition leader, Mr Tony Abbott, to scrap a carbon tax would harm Australian employment prospects. Ms Gillard has stated that such a move would be 'dreadful for the businesses that have made investment decisions on the basis of a carbon price, particularly in our energy sector, where we need to see investment ...Directors, businesses, boards would make decisions where they would start employing people and Mr Abbott would come and sweep that away, recklessly stranding those investments and losing those jobs.'
3. Consumers and workers will be compensated for the impact of the carbon tax
The Federal Government has insisted it will make sure people are compensated for price increases as part of its plan to charge for carbon emissions.
Greg Combet, the federal Climate Change minister has stated, 'Every dollar raised by the payment of the carbon price will be used to assist people, households, industries most affected and to help assist with other climate change programs.' The same claim has been made by the Prime Minister, Julie Gillard, who has stated that Australians can 'expect to see a generous assistance package'.
Mr Combet has also said that in the interim, as new sectors were being developed and new jobs were being created the government would do all it could to soften the impact on workers currently employed in polluting industries that were ultimately to be phased out.
Mr Combet stated that the Labor Government would strive for an 'economically sensitive' compensation package in its negotiations with the Greens on the detail of the carbon pricing package. He said any economic transition driven by the carbon price would take place slowly and not be at the expense of workers in high-polluting industries.
Mr Combet stated, 'As a former union official, I am very concerned to make sure that we underpin the jobs in the industries affected most by a carbon price.'
4. There is general consensus within the scientific community that climate change is real, injurious and created by human activities
Though there are some areas of dispute, the general consensus within the international scientific community is that climate change is real and damaging and that it has been largely caused by human activities.
Chapter 2 of the Final Garnaut Report 2008 states, 'The majority opinion of the Australian and international scientific communities [is] that human activities resulted in substantial global warming from the mid-20th century, and that continued growth in greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human-induced emissions would generate high risks of dangerous climate change.'
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 stated with regard to Australia 'As a result of reduced precipitation and increased evaporation, water security problems are projected to intensify by 2030 in southern and eastern Australia...' The panel also judged, 'Ongoing coastal development and population growth in areas such as Cairns and South-east Queensland (Australia) ... are projected to exacerbate risks from sea-level rise and increases in the severity and frequency of storms and coastal flooding by 2050.' The PPCC also stated, 'Production from agriculture and forestry by 2030 is projected to decline over much of southern and eastern Australia, and over parts of eastern New Zealand, due to increased drought and fire...'
In 2006, Dr Roger Jones and Dr B Preston produced a report for the CSIRO which stated, 'Australia is one of the many global regions experiencing significant climate change as a result of global emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. The average surface air temperature of Australia increased by 0.7 C over the past century - warming that has been accompanied by marked declines in regional precipitation, particularly along the east and west coasts of the continent. These seemingly small changes have already had widespread consequences for Australia.'
The report further stated, 'Future changes in climate extremes, such as tropical cyclones, heat waves, and extreme precipitation events, would degrade Australian infrastructure and public health, for example, through increased energy demands, maintenance costs for transportation infrastructure, and coastal flooding.'
5. Australia must not be left behind as technological advances are made to deal with climate change
Supporters of a carbon tax argue that it will provide a major incentive for Australian industry to change, bringing it into accord with a low emissions future. According to this line of argument, as more and more of the world's economies adapt to the demands of reduced emissions it is important that Australia not be left behind with an industrial base founded on outmoded polluting technologies.
Were this to happen, other countries may ultimately place embargos on our goods, while demand for some of our raw materials, especially coal, may well reduce. It is important that we develop industries and a domestic consumer base that is able to rely on renewable, clean energy sources. Developing these energy sources and the technologies that allow them to be exploited could be a growth area for the Australian economy.
On February 25, 2011, Prime Minister Gillard stated, 'If we don't change as the world moves, we could get stuck with a old fashioned high carbon pollution economy and not have the jobs of the future ... I'm not ... going to put the nation in that position, pricing carbon is the right thing to do...'
The Prime Minister further stated, 'History teaches us that the countries and the economies that prosper at times of historic change are those who get in and shape and manage the changes.'
The chief executive of the Climate Institute, John Connor, has claimed , 'We don't want to be lumbered with the energy sources and jobs of the 20th century, while the 21st century charges on without us.'
Chapter 23 of the Final Garnaut Report states, 'At some time, there will be breakthroughs that fundamentally lower the costs of producing goods and services in the low-emissions economy.' The report then goes on to consider some current areas of Australian research and development which are well-placed to make such breakthroughs. It is claimed that a carbon price will act as a powerful incentive to ensure that Australia continues to invest in the development of these technologies. Chapter 20 of the Garnaut Report states, 'The key to changes in sources of energy has always been the interaction between economic and environmental factors. With the challenge of climate change, the introduction of a price on greenhouse gas emissions will accelerate the change by increasing the cost of fossil fuels relative to alternatives.'
It has also been claimed that the longer Australia delays making changes to its industries to bring them into line with global low-emission standards the more expensive the changes will ultimately be. On March 18, 2008, Dr Guy Pearse wrote, 'A host of studies confirm that the longer Australia delays emission cuts the more it will cost.'
6. A key element of the Australian electorate expects action on climate change
It has been claimed that public recognition of the importance of climate change policy is growing and that all governments will be required to develop credible policies to mitigate climate change. Those concerned acknowledge that Australia is the highest per capita polluter in the world and the planet's fifteenth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
The success of the Greens at the last federal election has been seen as an indication of the extent to which action on climate change has become part of the Australian political agenda.
Professor Nicholas Low is director of the Australasian Centre for the Governance and Management of Urban Transport, at Melbourne University. Professor Low has stated, 'The consequences of global warming are so severe that avoiding climate change is not just a policy, it must become the overriding context of policy... The surging Greens vote in the federal election shows that after 20 years the public are now awakening to that reality.'
On January 21, 2011, the Australian Greens announced an 'interim carbon price proposal'. This suggested that carbon would be taxed essentially within the framework of the federal Labor government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme .
Instead of releasing pollution permits at a given rate (the government had proposed a starting price of $10 a tonne), the Greens proposal would tax emissions, at a rate of $23 per tonne in the first year, starting July 2010, and $24 in the second year. This proposal strongly influenced the Labor Government's new carbon tax.
Professor Low has argued that voter concern over climate change is here to stay and will either continue to give the Greens influence or will affect one or other of the two major parties to the point where the Greens are no longer required to voice the environmental concerns of a key element of the electorate.
Professor Low has suggested, 'Australia is at a turning point. Whether or not the movement in public opinion turns into a vote for the Greens depends on how quickly the major parties and the independents adopt effective climate change policies.'