Australian political responses to Obama's climate change Inauguration speech

The parliamentary leaders of the Labor Party, Liberal Party and the Greens all responded to Barack Obama's statement on the necessity to act on climate change made during his 2013 inauguration speech.

The Prime Minister Julia Gillard welcomed the statement and also reiterated government policy on carbon pricing, and the trend for more extreme weather events due to climate change as articulated by climate scientists.

Tony Abbott was more combative, attempting to use his press conference question for taking a cheap shot at President Obama not being able to get climate legislation passed through congress, and attacking the Government's carbon pricing policy.

Greens leader, Senator Christine Milne, also welcomed the change in priority on climate change by the US administration and said that "the proof of President Obama's commitment will be in what the US does in the global negotiations" over the next two years.

Critical time for stopping the HRL Coal fired power station in Victoria

Victorian residents are fighting to stop the construction of a new 600MW coal fired power station at Morwell in the La Trobe valley. The HRL coal gasification plant proposes to turn brown coal into a synthetic gas which is mixed with natural gas to fire steam turbines to generate electricity. The pollution generated will be the equivalent of a black coal fired powered station, around 4 million tonnes of CO2 pollution each and every year.

John Howard awarded HRL $100 million, a low emissions technology 'clean coal' grant contingent on it meeting certain project deliverables including raising commercial finance by 31st December 2011. These conditions have not been met. Victorians will rally on Wednesday 1st February 2012 at Parliament House in Spring Street at 12.30pm for the Federal Government to withdraw this grant money and redirect it to renewable energy projects. And to ensure that Julia Gillard keeps her 2010 promise "that there will be no more dirty coal powered stations built in this country".

Related: July 2011 - Victorian Government needs to come clean on plan to achieve 20 percent emissions cut by 2020 | June 2011 - Ferguson and Gillard feeding HRL's coal gasification technology in Melbourne | April 2011 - Government foyer occupied to stop new Victorian coal power station | Campaign sites: Stop HRL, Quit Coal

Passage of Australian Carbon Pricing legislation may influence UN Climate talks

Could our carbon pricing package be a "game changer" at the next UN climate talks to be held in Durban, South Africa from 28 November - 9 December 2011? Australia's climate change ambassador, Louise Hand thinks it is possible. But first a look at the passage of the legislation through the House of Representatives and some community reactions.

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed the Government's carbon pricing and clean energy legislation with the support of Independent members Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott, Andrew Wilkie, and Greens member Adam Bandt: the vote was 74-72. The legislation passed despite a vociferous campaign against climate change science well orchestrated by right wing talk back radio identities like Alan Jones and supported by the Liberal and National opposition parties led by Tony Abbott, who in the past has denied climate change and also advocated a carbon tax.

Australian Carbon pricing policy a small start to tackling climate change

On Sunday the Gillard Federal Government announced it's carbon tax at $23 a tonne of carbon to be imposed on the 500 largest carbon polluting companies starting from July 1st, 2012. More than half the money raised will be returned to low and middle income earners, pensioners and retirees as compensation. Additional packages include $10 billion renewable energy and low emissions technology fund, substantial assistance packages to 'trade exposed' industries, $1.9 billion to fund carbon geo-sequestration in the land sector, and a $1 billion biodiversity fund.

The initial rate of $23 a tonne will be indexed at 2.5% for 3 years before an Emissions Trading Scheme is introduced in 2015 with a cap and floor price set by the Government. An independent Climate Change Authority will be established to recommend targets when the emissions trading scheme commences to take some of the politics out of the process. A target of 80% emissions reduction from 2000 levels by 2050 will be set.

See also: Carbon price in a nutshell according to the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Full Details are available on the Government compensation package and of the carbon price modelling from Treasury Department.

Carbon price in a nutshell according to the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Guillard announced the major details of the carbon price (carbon tax) at midday today flanked by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet and Treasurer Wayne Swan. The package entails substantial compensation to middle and low income households, taxpayers, pensioners and self funded retirees. It also establishes a $10billion renewable energy fund. More on the details and responses later. Here is a short video from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition explaining the policy in a nutshell.

"Using the latest in Power Point technology, the AYCC communications team has been up all night preparing this short explanation of how the Gillard Government’s announced carbon price will work." explained Glen in posting this video on the AYCC website.

Ferguson and Gillard feeding HRL's coal gasification technology in Melbourne

Just as Australia is about to get a price on carbon, the Federal Government is funding a new coal fired power station for Victoria. On Monday a little bit of street theatre for the media was enacted in Treasury Place outside the Prime Minister's Melbourne offices.

Report from Indymedia: Look at Fergo and Gillard did!

Gillard announces interim carbon tax to tackle carbon pollution and climate change

Australia is to get a carbon tax from 1 July 2012 as one cornerstone policy for tackling the challenges of climate change, announced Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Greens leader Senator Bob Brown, and Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor in Canberra yesterday. The interim carbon tax is proposed to run for 3-5 years, rising by a set amount each year, to be followed by a full cap and trade emissions trading scheme linked to international markets. There would be no international offsets allowed for the interim mechanism and agricultural emissions would initially be excluded from the tax.

Environmental Scorecards: Climate action missing in action from Major Party policy

The major parties have sidelined action on climate this election, delaying any policy on setting a carbon price and only taking small steps to encourage conversion to renewable energy or carbon emissions reduction. The Climate Institute, Australian Conservation Foundation, and the Wilderness Society have all heavily criticised both Government and Coalition parties while endorsing the supportive climate and environmental policies of the Greens.

While Prime Minister Julia Gillard 'believes' in anthropogenic climate change, her government's main climate policy is a proposed 150 person citizen assembly to build a community consensus on climate action and continuing renewable energy programs already started. The Government continues to reiterate that the introduction of an emissions trading scheme will not be reassessed until the end of 2012. Climate activists have criticised Julia Gillard over current ALP climate change policy.

Environmentalists: Fuel Emission reduction policy well behind world's best practice

Policy Plans released by Julia Gillard and her Climate Change Minister Penny Wong for mandatory vehicle fuel efficiency standards and a $2000 rebate for trading in pre-1995 cars for new fuel efficient vehicles, were cautiously welcomed by environmentalists while being criticised for not going far enough and being funded by cuts to other climate change action programs such as Carbon Capture and Storage and solar energy. "Under this plan, Australia's fuel efficiency standards for new vehicles will be about a quarter of a century behind China's when they are eventually law. We must make our cars cleaner quicker." said Don Henry, Australian Conservation Foundation executive director.

Australian emission standards are currently voluntary. Under the envisaged mandatory standards emissions from light vehicles would reduce by 14 per cent by 2014 and 30 per cent by 2024 based upon 2008 emission levels. While Government modelling suggests a significant fuel saving - a typical motorist could save around $600 per year on fuel costs - the estimated amount saved could prove elusive due to the threat of peak oil to affect major increases in petrol prices in the next decade. The government has not released petrol price modelling to check their figures.

The car industry has welcomed the $394 million plan to give motorists a rebate on trade-ins between January 2011 and the end of 2014.

The Australian Conservation Foundation questioned why the 30 per cent emission reduction would not be introduced until 2024 when many countries already have mandatory fuel emission requirements. "Australians want healthier cities and more efficient cars, but the standards announced today are weaker than European standards and certainly not world's best practice," said Don Henry. "Europe, the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea have all had mandatory fuel efficiency standards for new cars for years. China's new car fleet was already more efficient than Australia's in 2002."

Greens Climate Change spokeperson Senator Christine Milne welcomed the initiative but criticised the Government for cutting back renewable energy programs to fund it, and the lack of a carbon price mechanism being set to fund such initiatives. "Prime Minister Gillard's refusal to legislate for a carbon tax means that she does not have a source of funding for climate initiatives and it is completely wrong to take money out of Australia's renewable energy future to pay to take clunkers off the road." she said.

"The Greens would take the money from coal via a carbon tax, or from fuel excise, whereas the Prime Minister's rhetoric on climate change is becoming even more hollow as she prepares to attack the solar industry one again. Prime Minister Gillard seems to think that nobody cares if only two of the 52 applications in the solar flagship program are funded, but she will find that Australians do care about the solar industry and will not look kindly on this daylight robbery from the solar sector." said Senator Milne.

Sources

• Australian Labor Party Policy News, July 24, 2010 - New emission standards for cars
• Media Release - Australian Conservation Foundation, July 24, 2010 - Make cars cleaner quicker
• Media Release - The Greens, July 24, 2010 - Labor steals from solar to pay for old clunkers

Climate activists protest Julia Gillard over ALP climate change policy

ALP policy on climate change action has been strongly criticised by environment and climate action groups with protests at Julia Gillard's climate change policy launch in Brisbane, and protests at Julia Gillard's Werribee electoral office and her Melbourne Treasury Place office.

Related: Climate activists lock on at Gillard's office to protest pathetic ALP policy | Photos at Treasury Place protest


Bradley Smith from Friends of the Earth confronted Julia Gillard at the climate policy launch at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. After being physically tackled and lead aware by Federal police Bradley told reporters that to take real action on climate hange the Prime Minister has to address the coal industry "but the coal miners have got her tongue" he said.

"We gave Labor a mandate to take climate action 3 years ago. What she announced today is just another delay tactic. She is essentially turning back the clock to before we ratified Kyoto, to before the Garnaut review. This backwards step will come at an enormous cost, and we cannot let that happen without protest." Bradley said in a media statement.

"40,000 coal seam gas wells in Queensland's darling downs, 11 new coal fired power stations, and huge expansions of coal rail and ports, that's Julia Gillard's real climate policy, and it's condemning our future." he said.

"Scientists have been telling us we need to take action on climate change for a long time. The government have had a mandate to take strong action on climate change for the last three years. That's what the election was about three years ago, and we've seen no action. So I feel the need to do whatever I can because it's not just about me, it's about the whole planet." Bradley told triple j radio Hack program.

In Melbourne, two actions ocurred. Two activists 'locked-on' to a door in Julia Gillard's Weribee electoral office, while climate activists from Environment Victoria and other climate action groups gathered outside the Prime Minister's Melbourne office. Environment Victoria campaigns director Mark Wakeham said in a media statement "The promise that new coal-fired power stations will have to be 'carbon capture ready' is greenwash, particularly given that the commitment does not apply to the 15 existing proposals to build new coal-fired power stations,"

"In effect, today's announcement gives the green light for 15 new coal-fired power stations nationally, including the HRL proposal in Victoria. It allows power stations like Hazelwood to keep polluting. And it signals a complete lack of leadership on climate change from a Gillard Government. "Promises that future proposals for coal-fired power stations would have to be carbon capture ready are meaningless. I'm Tattslotto-winning ready, but it's probably not going to happen" Mark Wakeham said.

Mr Wakeham also condemned the creation of a community panel as another cynical delaying tactic. "We don't appoint citizens juries to decide whether or not to send troops into conflict or to design our tax scheme. This is just another delaying tactic. The ALP designed a similar process with the Garnaut Review last election. The review spent 12 months studying the issues, and then the Labor Party largely ignored its findings. Now they are proposing to spend another year on another process which will have zero impact on our levels of greenhouse pollution."

"At the last election voters showed their support for climate action, and poll after poll consistently shows the majority of Australians want to see action to rapidly reduce our greenhouse pollution, not more delays" concluded Mr Wakeham.

The Climate Institute's CEO John Connor said the ALP's climate policy provided small steps forwad but the policy falls far short for a credible plan to tackle climate change and carbon emissions pollution.

"A credible plan needs to have a limit and price tag on pollution, needs to make polluters take responsibility for pollution and have investments and incentives to make clean energy cheaper. A credible plan needs to demonstrate how parties can achieve their international commitments to achieve up to 25 % reductions off 2000 levels of pollution by 2020." John Connor said.

"Today's announcement has welcome repeated support of the need for a limit and price on pollution but gives no guarantees for either. There is some encouragement for businesses taking responsibility for their pollution and some extra funding to make clean energy cheaper but we still rate the Government policy at 1 star out of five. Preliminary analysis of the pollution reduction potential of the policy announcements under our Pollute-o-meter sees very little change pre-2020 with current Government policies still witnessing increased pollution levels by 2020."

In comparison, the Climate Institute ranks the Coalition parties climate policy at just half a star out of five and will also see pollution increasing out to 2020. You can access the Climate Institute's Pollute-o-meter to assess the major parties on climate change action.

"We welcome the investment in clean energy and smart grids which is a good down payment but short of what is needed to make strides forward in making clean energy cheaper." concluded John Connor.

On Friday the Greens released a plan for 100% renewable energy for Australia. Under the plan Infrastructure Australia would be tasked with: mapping the renewable energy resource areas of Australia; bringing all levels of government, local communities and renewable energy developers together in consultation; and creating renewable energy development zones based on the mapped areas, with streamlined approval processes and funding connection of the zones to the electricity grid.

Sources

• Media Release Environment Victoria - July 23, 2010 - Gillard moving backwards on climate
• Media Release Climate Institute - July 23, 2010 - Small steps forward but far short of credible plan
• Media Release Friends of the Earth - July 23, 2010 - Gillard's climate announcement: moving backwards
• Media Release The Greens - July 23, 2010 - Planning for 100% renewable energy
• Image courtesy Environment Victoria on Flickr - Gillard Climate Change Protest

Prime Minister Julia Gillard avoids talking climate change

The missing words at Julia Gillard's first address as Prime Minister to the National Press Club was "climate change". Outside the building Climate activists from Rising Tide Newcastle had dumped a ute full of coal at the entrance. The protesters called on the Gillard Government to announce a climate change policy that addresses Australia's principal source of greenhouse pollution - coal.


"If she wants to restore the Government's credibility on climate change, Gillard needs to ban new coal-fired power stations," said Steve Phillips, spokesperson for climate action group Rising Tide Newcastle, "Greenhouse pollution is set to sky-rocket in Australia, with twelve new coal-fired power stations on the cards."

"Just this week, in Western Australia, three new coal-fired power stations were approved. There are are more planned in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. Coal-fired power generation is already Australia's largest source of domestic greenhouse pollution."

While the protesters chanted outside the front entrance Gillard was chaperoned through a side entrance into the club.

"Australia is already the world's biggest coal exporter, and coal exports are our nation's biggest contribution to the climate crisis. Yet coal corporations in New South Wales and Queensland are planning massive expansions of up to eleven-fold over coming years." concluded Steve Phillips, "Gillard must put a moratorium on the expansion of the coal mining and export industry, and start replacing coal with sustainable, renewable alternative industries."

Inside the press club Gillard's speech did not make one mention of climate or climate change policy, but focussed on the economic and social credentials of the Government. The upcoming eletion campaign will be "clean and green" she said, "but mostly lean."
Outside Greenpeace spokeswoman Trish Harrup told reporters "The policy vacuum created by Labor is being filled with pollution."
According to a Stock and Land article cabinet discussed on Tuesday climate change policy which may include setting an interim carbon price to be implemented sometime in the next two years, as well as other measures.

The electorate waits for the release of this climate policy. It may prove the make or break of the Gillard government campaign for re-election.

Yesterday Climate Change minister Penny Wong unveiled new funding for the National Solar Schools Program - grants of up to $50,000 ($100,000 for multi-campus schools) which are awarded to eligible primary and secondary schools to install solar and other renewable power systems, rainwater tanks and a range of energy efficiency measures. The Program was temporarily suspended in October 2009 due to high demand.

"More than 1000 schools across the nation have already installed solar systems under this program, and another 1500 schools have projects underway to become solar schools," Senator Wong said. "Since the program began in 2008, about 6 MW of renewable solar power has been installed in schools - the equivalent of meeting the electricity needs of 1200 average households each day.
But the tight timing for the National Solar Schools program refunding has been criticised by one solar energy supplier, Energy Matters, "the timing isn't ideal given many schools are in the midst of a break and some school administrators are on well-deserved leave." said Energy Matters co-founder Max Sylvester "We fear the narrow time-frame will see many deserving schools miss out on playing a larger, crucial role in addressing greenhouse gas emissions and slashing their coal-fired related electricity consumption."

As demand is so high for solar power, the Government needs to seriously consider the action plan Zero Carbon Australia 2020 to transition from coal powered electricity generation to renewable energy.

Perhaps as a start our Prime Minister should install solar panels on the Lodge as a symbolic action of leadership.

Image courtesy of Rising Tide Newcastle - Coal dumps on Gillard's Press Club address



Takver is a citizen journalist from Melbourne who has been writing on Climate Change issues and protests including Rising Sea Level, Ocean acidification, Environmental and social Impacts since 2004.