I raised this the other day. The whole point of the Carbon Tax/ETS is to penalise the big polluters. If the penalty isn't high enough, they won't act, and the target won't be achieved.
"A cap, set by the EU on the total emissions allowed within the scheme is set, and allowances adding up to the cap are provided to the companies regulated by the scheme. The companies are required to measure and report their carbon emissions and to hand in one allowance for each tonne they release. Companies can trade their allowances, providing an incentive for them to reduce their emissions.
The current cap is set to fall by 1.74% annually to achieve a target of reducing emissions in 2020 to 21% below their level in 2005. In June 2011 the price of an allowance was around €16. The trade in permits is worth around $150bn annually, dwarfing other emissions trading schemes (the Clean Development Mechanism market established by the UN is valued at $1.5bn annually)."
Now this is important people "The current cap is set to fall by 1.74% annually to achieve a target of reducing emissions in 2020 to 21% below their level in 2005 Now hold on there little lady! That's not Australia's target. And just think about this. Europe growing, Australia contracting, EU/AUD exchange rate.
No wonder Phyllis and the Greens are happy. Welome the the EU&A run by, as Bob Brown advocated, one world parliament.
