PM’s $2b plan on emissions

ABBOTT PUSH REVISITED

Michael Koziol

The Morrison government will renew the centrepiece of Tony Abbott’s climate change policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund, with a $2billion injection over 10 years, as it outlines a plan for meeting Australia’s 2030 targets under the Paris Agreement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce the move today as part of a multi-pronged package that will include new measures on energy efficiency, hydro power and electric vehicles that are understood to be worth nearly another $1.5billion.

Declaring his intention to act with ‘‘cool heads, not just impassioned hearts’’, Mr Morrison will pledge ‘‘meaningful, practical action on climate change, without damaging our economy or the family budget’’.

The revamped direct action initiative, to be rebadged as the Climate Solutions Fund, will include public money for ‘‘on country’’ Indigenous Australians to prevent bushfires, small businesses wanting to reduce energy bills through new technology and farmers seeking to revegetate degraded land and drought-proof their farms.

Critics will interpret the extra investment as a concession that Australia was not on track to meet its obligations to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030 ‘‘in a canter’’, as Mr Morrison has said repeatedly since becoming Prime Minister in August.

However, government sources said the $2billion-plus plan had already been factored into Mr Morrison’s pronouncements.

The ERF, instituted by Mr Abbott in 2014, has reduced Australia’s carbon emissions by 193 million tonnes at an average price of $12atonne, according to the government.

However, 155 million tonnes of abatement was yet to be delivered as at December last year, and critics of the scheme argue it is difficult to certify how much abatement has occurred.

Mr Abbott and then environment minister Greg Hunt had promised to give the fund $200million a year for 10 years after 2018-19 – the same commitment now made by Mr Morrison.

The $2billion investment over a decade is less than the $1billion over three years pushed by some members of the Liberals’ so-called moderate faction. However, it also dashes the hopes of conservatives such as Craig Kelly who argued the fund should be phased out altogether.

Mr Abbott told The Age as recently as this month that he supported renewing the ERF.

‘‘If we have to reduce emissions, I think direct action is the best way of doing it,’’ he said.

The Prime Minister will boast that Australia is on track to meet and exceed one of the largest per capita emissions reductions of any country in the G20, lauding the feat as ‘‘truly remarkable’’.

According to government projections, Australia will now meet its carbon abatement goals through a mix of the Climate Solutions Package, energy performance in refrigeration and air conditioning and ‘‘technology improvements and other sources of abatement’’.

‘‘We are one of a very small club that will exceed our targets,’’ Mr Morrison will say. ‘‘And unlike countries such as New Zealand, we are doing it without spending taxpayers’ money on foreign carbon credits.’’

That target is ‘‘no slouch’’, the Prime Minister will say, compared to Labor’s proposal for a 45 per cent target, which he describes as ‘‘reckless’’ and a ‘‘wrecking ball’’ for the nation’s economy.

‘‘Sure you can have higher targets. But they come at a tremendous cost,’’ Mr Morrison will say. ‘‘Labor runs around the country telling industries and businesses they will be exempted. But if that is true then they have no hope of meeting their targets. Their targets depend on shutting industries and businesses down.’’

The Climate Solutions Package will be part of the April 2 budget and, as a top-up of existing funding, does not require legislation to pass the Parliament.

Today’s announcement will go some way to deadening criticism from inside and outside the Coalition that it lacked a clear and viable policy on climate change ahead of the election.

Mr Morrison will use his speech to acknowledge Mr Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull for their contributions to Australia’s current climate change policies.

Front page of today's Age/SMH