he new figures may explain why the Abbott government remains confident it can meet the target even though it has repealed the carbon tax, has as yet no legislated alternative policy and is contemplating reducing or closing the renewable energy target. But they will also dramatically increase the already intense pressure on Australia at the special United Nations summit in New York next week to step up its efforts. The easy ride to this initial target of a 5% reduction in emissions by 2020 compared with 2000 levels is in large part due to the closure of energy-hungry industries such as aluminium smelters, as well as a broader reduction in electricity demand. In 2012 the promise to reduce emissions by 5% of 2000 levels by 2020 was calculated to require the cumulative reduction of 755m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Last year new government calculations reduced that figure to 431 million tonnes. Now new calculations by Frontier Economics say the figure could be as low as 225m tonnes, if the renewable energy target (RET) stays in place to drive investment into clean generation, or somewhere around 300m tonnes if the government accepts advice to pare back the RET from its review panel, headed by prominent businessman and self-professed climate sceptic Dick Warburton.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 00:42:34 +0000