[Vision2020] 7-10-2011: PM of Australia Speech: A Clean Energy Future: Carbon Price to be Legislated

[Paul Rumelhart]

First and foremost: follow the money.  Who profits?  And by how much?

Paul

On 07/10/2011 03:01 PM, Ted Moffett wrote:
> Major breaking news...
>
> I've been following the Australian carbon pricing proposals for
> months, but cynically doubted any significant plan would be passed.
> However, this news indicates otherwise!
>
> If this Australian plan with the economic incentives etc. involved
> proves successful (read about the "Strong Growth, Low Pollution"
> Aussie Treasury economic modeling report, addressing the carbon
> pricing plan effects long term, lower down), it will be a major step
> forward for industrial nations to substantially address anthropogenic
> climate change.
>
> A transcript of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's July 10,
> 2011 address to the nation is pasted in below, so please dismiss my
> misleading alarmist leftist comments on climate change issues, and
> skip to Gillard's socialist economically damaging and scientifically
> unsound propaganda about addressing global warming with a carbon price
> (tongue-in-cheek alert, I should not have to say).
>
> I've heard Gillard speak before, and found her a compelling
> personality.  There was a precision, clarity and warmth to her
> speaking style.  It appears audio/video of her speech is at this
> website http://www.pm.gov.au/ , though I have not listened to it.
>
> Note Gillard's tax reduction/shifting proposal to mitigate increases
> in costs to consumers due to the carbon tax, where the revenue gained
> from the carbon price is partly passed on to consumers with a tax cut,
> an economic plan the Earth Policy Institute has advocated for years
> (detailed discusssion with references here:
> http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/books/pb4/PB4ch10_ss2 ).
>
> In the US discussion of pricing carbon to address global warming is
> often criticized as a burden to consumers due to the increases in
> costs of goods and services.  But if these costs are offset with tax
> cuts, this renders carbon pricing more appealing.  In fact, with tax
> shifting if a consumer makes choices to avoid products and services
> greatly involving use of fossil fuels (electric car charged at least
> in part off alternative energy, including hydro or nuclear, for
> example, or solar electric or thermal home energy instead of coal
> fired sourced electricity) they can economically come out ahead in the
> long term, given the tax cuts.
>
> PM Gillard launches the Clean Energy Future website, July 10, 2011:
>
> http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/
> http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/prime-minister-julia-gillard-welcomes-visitors-to-the-clean-energy-future-website/
> -----------------
> http://www.pm.gov.au/
> http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/transcript-address-nation
>
> Transcript of Address to the Nation
> SUN 10 JULY 2011
> Prime Minister
> Subject(s): Carbon price; Clean energy future
> PM: Good evening.
>
> I want to talk to you tonight about why the Government is putting a
> price on carbon and what this means for you.
>
> The decisions I announced today mean:
>
> Around five hundred big polluters will pay for every tonne of carbon
> pollution they put into our atmosphere.
>
> By 2020 this will cut carbon pollution by 160 million tonnes a year.
>
> And because some businesses will put prices up, there will be tax
> cuts, increased pensions and increased family payments.
>
> We have had a long debate about climate change in this country.
>
> Most Australians now agree our climate is changing, this is caused by
> carbon pollution, this has harmful effects on our environment and on
> the economy – and the Government should act.
>
> Economists and experts agree that the best way is to make polluters
> pay by putting a price on carbon.
>
> The first Australian Government to announce a plan for a carbon price
> was John Howard’s back in 2007.
>
> A lot has happened since then; the debate has been difficult and divisive.
>
> And no government – no political party or leader – can claim to have
> got everything right during this time.
>
> But we have now had the debate, 2011 is the year we decide that as a
> nation we want a clean energy future.
>
> Now is the time to move from words to deeds.
>
> That’s why I announced today how Australia’s carbon price will work.
>
> > From 1 July next year, big polluters will pay $23 for every tonne of
> carbon they put into our atmosphere.
>
> They now know how much they will pay unless they cut their pollution.
>
> And they can start planning to cut pollution now.
>
> By 2020 our carbon price will take 160 million tonnes of pollution out
> of the atmosphere every year.
>
> That’s the equivalent of taking forty five million cars off the road.
>
> Some of the cost paid by big polluters will be passed through to the
> prices of the goods you buy.
>
> The price impact will be modest but I know family budgets are always tight.
>
> So I have decided most of the money raised from the carbon price will
> be used to fund tax cuts, pension increases and higher family
> payments.
>
> These will be permanent, matching the carbon price over time.
>
> Not everyone will be financially better off – there is no money tree.
> The budget has to add up. But I want people who need help most to get
> the help they need.
>
> That’s why 9 in 10 households will get a combination of tax cuts and
> payment increases.
>
> For almost 6 million households this will fully meet your average extra costs.
>
> And of these, 4 million Australian households – including every older
> Australian who relies solely on the pension – will get a “buffer” for
> your budget, with the extra payments being 20 per cent higher than
> your average extra costs.
>
> When you have some time, you should have a look at the
> cleanenergyfuture.gov.au website.
>
> It’ll help you find out what you’re entitled to.
>
> And it will link you to ideas for how to cut power bills and cut
> pollution without cutting back on life’s essentials.
>
> I also understand that there is nothing more important to families
> than having a job.
>
> So I have decided we will take special measures to support jobs and
> keep Australia competitive internationally. And some of the money paid
> by polluters will also fund billions of dollars of investments in
> clean technologies like solar, wind and geothermal.
>
> All up, the carbon price will support $100bn worth of investment in
> renewables in the next forty years.
>
> Putting a price on carbon is a big change for our country.
>
> I know we can do it together.
>
> Our economy is the envy of the world.
>
> We have world-leading renewable technology, a coal industry determined
> to cut pollution among the world’s richest reserves of natural gas.
>
> And we are a confident, creative people.
>
> I see a great clean energy future for our great country.
>
> I know we can get there together.
> --------------------------
> http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/strong-growth-low-pollution-under-carbon-price
>
> Strong growth, low pollution under a carbon price
>
> SUN 10 JULY 2011
>
> Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Minister for
> Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
>
> The Gillard Government today released extensive modelling that shows
> Australia’s economy will continue to grow strongly at the same time as
> we cut carbon pollution.
>
> The Strong Growth, Low Pollution report models the impact on the
> economy of putting a price on carbon pollution.
>
> The modelling shows incomes and jobs will increase substantially while
> our country takes action to reduce the risks of dangerous climate
> change.
>
> Average income per person under a carbon price is forecast to rise by
> about 16 per cent by 2020 to be around $9,000 higher in today’s
> dollars.
>
> National employment is projected to increase by 1.6 million jobs by
> the end of the decade.
>
> The modelling also shows that the cost of living impacts of a $23
> carbon price are modest, with an overall price increase of 0.7 per
> cent in 2012-13. That compares to a price increase of 2.5 per cent as
> a result of the GST.
>
> The price of most goods will increase by less than one half of one per
> cent as the result of a carbon price. That is less than half a cent in
> every dollar.
>
> Delaying action on climate change will only lead to dramatically
> higher costs, will undermine our competitiveness and will ultimately
> hit jobs and living standards.
>
> Putting a price on carbon will drive innovation and investment in
> clean energy technology, moving production towards less
> pollution-intensive processes.
>
> The report shows that without action Australia’s pollution is forecast
> to nearly double by 2050. A carbon price will deliver an absolute
> reduction in emissions and drive the expansion of the renewable energy
> sector so that it is 18 times larger than its current size.
>
> This extensive modelling has been prepared by the Treasury in
> consultation with other departments over recent months, and will be
> updated to reflect the specific finalised policy agreed by the
> Multi-Party Climate Change Committee ahead of legislation being
> introduced into the Parliament. Any updated modelling is expected to
> closely match the results of the core policy scenario modelled in the
> Strong Growth, Low Pollution report.
>
> Differences between the MPCCC agreement and the scenarios modelled
> include the starting price, availability of international permits, the
> binding 100 per cent facility allocation cap and the treatment of
> fuel.
>
> The Government extends its thanks to the Treasury and other government
> departments for the hard work and world-class expertise that has
> underpinned this important report.
> -------------------------
> http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/10/australia.carbon.emissions/
>
> Australia plans to put a 'carbon price' on industrial emissions
>
> (CNN)  The Australian government plans to impose a "carbon price" on
> industrial pollution to help fight greenhouse gas emissions.
>
> "We have the right package. It will be in the parliament and
> legislated later this year," Gillard said at a news conference Sunday.
> "We are going to get this done. We are going to create a clean energy
> future."
>
> "Carbon price revenue will also be used to support jobs and to invest
> in clean energy and climate change programs."
> ------------------------------------------
> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>
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