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The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: Innovator

Rudd’s 5 per cent – another lost opportunity Sydney Morning Herald 13 Jan 09

On December 15 the Rudd Government announced a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a mere 5 per cent by the year 2020 – far less than the 25 to 40 per cent cut the United Nations has been advocating for developed countries.

Beyond bitter disappointment and frustration for those who know that we have to take climate change seriously is the blow that this announcement deals to Australia’s ability to innovate and lead the world in clean technology.

Just 12 months ago, while ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, Kevin Rudd hailed the UN’s target of 25 to 40 per cent the roadmap to the future and pledged to commit to a similar target to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, lead the world by example, and leave our children a better world than the one we inherited.

One year later and now in power the Labor Party has ditched responsibility and switched tact. Rather than setting out to embrace change and opportunity, the Labor Party has bowed to powerful oil lobbyists and stooped to protectionist policy – why embrace change when China and India might not, Rudd claims defiantly?

This is short termism at its worst. It risks the death knell to future international agreements and sets the bar low for other countries who have not yet set their targets. Why would other countries such as India and China, who have just as much claim to fossil fuels as we do (if not more given the size of their populations), agree to targets of 40 per cent when countries in the west say 5 per cent is as much as they can commit to without harming their economies?

As things stand today, serious government targets are the only way forward.The playing field is well and truly tipped in favour of the established oil, gas and nuclear companies. As Greenpeace and GetUp highlighted last year, the government currently hands the fossil fuel industry $9 billion in subsidies each year. That’s $28 handed to the fossil fuel industry for every $1 spent on renewables………………………..

The Labor Party has made lots of pledges to make renewables the centre of climate change policy since getting into power. But the truth is that the renewables industry will survive despite of, not because of, the government’s climate change policy.

Without the incentives that create markets and drive innovation and entrepreneurship, the renewables industry will keep plugging away in the background. And in 10 years time, Australia will wake up and realise it lost the biggest opportunity of the 21st century.

Posted by Kristen Le Mesurier
January 12, 2009 1:24 PM

The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: Innovator

January 13, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | renewables