Low Carbon | News & Views

Has Australia missed its chance to showcase the benefits of a low carbon economy?

Earlier this month, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) was introduced in the UK. All larger organisations and companies are required to take part and purchase allowances from the government for each tonne of CO2 they emit.

Australia’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), which is similar to the CRC, was one of the country’s major initiatives in its fight to cut carbon emissions by 2020. The scheme would have required businesses to purchase permits in order to emit the gas into the atmosphere.

However, it has been announced this week that prime minister Kevin Rudd has taken the decision to shelve the CPRS until 2013 at the earliest.

Initially plans were to put the programme into action by July 2011, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2020. This would have also provided a serious boost to Australia’s low carbon economy.

The reasons behind the delay were said to be twofold.

According to the government, not enough progress was being made on a new pact on climate change ahead of the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

In Mr Rudd’s own words this, “will provide the Australian government at the time with a better position to assess the level of global action on climate change.”

However, there was also opposition to the carbon trading scheme from the Upper Senate of the Australian government, which is not controlled by Mr Rudd’s ruling Australian Labor Party.

Before Mr Rudd took the decision to delay, the plans for the CPRS in Australia were rejected twice. The second time was just before the Copenhagen Summit in late 2009 after a supporter in an opposition party backtracked on his support.

Under the CPRS a cap would be placed on the emissions released by businesses in Australia which would be lowered over time. Businesses would be able to trade emissions permits between themselves, providing they never exceed the government’s cap, and potentially save vast sums of money on their energy bills.

Questions are now being asked as to whether the move is further confirmation that the lack of agreement which came out of Copenhagen will hinder the efforts of those determined to combat climate change.

And if this is the case, has the country missed out on a golden opportunity to show climate change skeptics and the international community the growing financial benefits of a low carbon economy?

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Who is performing best in the race towards a low carbon economy?

For many countries around the world the task they face in the coming years is how to create a more sustainable environment while still competing in the global economy.

This represents a significant challenge, as businesses have often been reluctant to change their practices for fear of them impacting on their bottom line.

However, the annual Climate Competitiveness Index, compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and non-profit organisation AccountAbility, suggests that many nations are already making strides in this area.

Simply put, a country’s climate competitiveness is measured by its accountability, defined as the clarity and support for its policies, and its performance – whether its track record suggests it is able to implement the changes.

The report analysed the activities of 95 major countries across the world. Together, these nations account for 97 per cent of the world’s economic activity and 96 per cent of its carbon emissions.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, was shown to be performing well in many areas. It was named as an “outstanding example” of a country which is making significant strides towards a low carbon economy.

The country was also said to have achieved “consistent progress” in combining climate accountability with performance, which UNEP said is the key to increasing Climate Competitiveness.

Sweden, Denmark, Japan and France were all shown to be performing well in this area. North Africa and the Middle East region were of the worst performers in both areas.

In terms of the performance index, the UK was shown to be the strongest nation in the world. However, it lagged behind a number of other European countries when it came to accountability.

The Low Carbon Economy Limited partnership with UNEP can be found by clicking here. It includes data and policy, country by country, which can be viewed and analysed.

UNEP suggested that the countries which performed well in the index had a strong record in reporting and managing carbon emissions, as well as developing their range of low carbon products and services.

It said that a network of organisations dedicated to the support of low carbon growth was present in those which performed best.

But in Bolivia, Ghana, Vietnam and Bangladesh, concern among members of the population was a key driver and in Scandinavia and Singapore businesses were playing a major role.

All signs point to the routes leading to a low carbon economy being varied, which begs the question, is the UK currently travelling down the right one?

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Tories urge electorate to vote blue, go green

The Conservatives have published their 2010 election manifesto with the claim that people who vote for them will be helping the environment.

In the document, the party said it wanted to make it easier for people and businesses to go green by putting incentives in place to help them.

It said it would aim to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and deliver a ten per cent cut in central government emissions within 12 months.

The party also said it would introduce an Emissions Performance Standard to limit the greenhouse gases produced by power stations and deliver an offshore electricity grid to support a new generation of wind power.

It added that under a Conservative government, energy regulator Ofgem would be reformed and cut the number of quangos intervening in the energy market.

For families, a Green Deal would be introduced giving homes up to £6,500 worth of energy improvement measures, the manifesto stated.

The energy efficiency of household appliances would also be improved through a new scheme similar to the ‘top runner’ initiative in Japan.

Labour launched its election manifesto yesterday (April 12th) making a number of environmental pledges, including a commitment to generate 40 percent of the UK’s electricity from low-carbon sources by 2020.

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80 percent cuts in carbon emissions possible

Cutting Europe’s carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 is possible, but the continent must eradicate carbon-emitting power generation.

This is the conclusion of a new report by the European Climate Foundation, which states that an 80 percent cut on 1990 levels would require a move to an almost zero-carbon power supply.

In the short term, the cost of implementing these policies would be higher than conducting business as usual, but over the longer term it would not lead to higher energy prices, the document stated.

Matt Philips, a spokesman for the European Climate Foundation, said: “When the Roadmap 2050 project began it was assumed that high-renewable energy scenarios would be too unstable to provide sufficient reliability.”

It was also thought that they would be uneconomic and that major breakthroughs in technology would be needed to move in this direction.

“Roadmap 2050 has found all of these assertions to be untrue,” he said.

According to data from the European Commission, carbon emissions from companies covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme fell by 11.2 percent last year.

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Green Alliance: Budget makes way for low carbon economy

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s establishment of a new green investment bank is a “very good starting point” for the UK to become a low carbon economy.

This is the view of Chris Hewitt, associate of environmental organisation Green Alliance, which comes after the announcement of a £2 billion green investment bank during Mr Darling’s Budget last week.

“Two billion [pounds] won’t transform our economy to a low carbon one but it is a very good starting point and it gives us a basis on which to raise more capital in the future,” commented Mr Hewitt.

Funds from the bank will focus on green transport and sustainable energy including offshore wind power.

As for the future, Mr Hewitt added: “We will be doing a lot more work on environmental taxation after the election and we would be looking for the next Budget, whenever it comes, to look at much more fundamental measures like that.”

However he explained that for the pre-election Budget, the Green Alliance had hoped for the creation of a green investment bank, which the government has delivered.

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