Energy (and emissions reduction) Minister Angus Taylor has categorically stated that there will be no more discussion about emissions reduction. We are stuck with the (lack of) policy we’ve got.
“We’re firmly committed to the policies we took to the election. We now have a clear mandate to implement those policies and we’ll be doing so,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
An indignant Tim Wilson echoed that line on Q&A on Monday, claiming to have “smashed the Kyoto targets” and to have put us well further down the track for our Paris target which we will “meet in a canter”.
Except the department’s own documents show these claims are bald-faced lies and that, without serious intervention, we have no chance of meeting even our inadequate emissions reduction targets.
By 2020, we are supposed to have reduced emissions by 5% on 2000 levels.
The latest Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory states that emissions for the year to September 2018 were 2.6% below emissions in 2000.
As they have been rising every year since the abolition of the carbon price, we have zero chance of meeting our target honestly.
In fact, Australia’s emissions projections 2018, published by the Department of the Environment and Energy, states that Australia’s emissions are projected to grow 1 per cent above current levels to 2020.
By 2030, we are supposed to have achieved emissions reduction of 26-28% below 2005 levels. (Note the change of base year to make the target even easier – 2005 was a very high emissions year).
But the department projects emissions to 2030 will grow 4% above 2020 levels, driven by higher emissions from LNG production, increased transport activity, a declining forest sink in the LULUCF sector, and growth in agricultural activity after a return to average seasonal conditions.
Adding to the concern, the release of information is being delayed.
The date of publication of the December 2018 Quarterly Update is a matter for consideration by the Minister, once Cabinet has been sworn in.
The annual National Inventory Report was due for submission to the UN by April 15. There is a six-week grace period to comply. That ran out on Monday.
The following list is the annual national emissions inventory totals from 2000 to 2019.
2000 547.0
2001 567.4
2002 567.9
2003 572.0
2004 577.0
2005 604.7
2006 614.9
2007 616.7
2008 588.1
2009 578.2
2010 561.9
2011 550.3
2012 524.6
2013 514.1
2014 521.0
2015 517.2
2016 525.0
2017 532.0
2018 534.7
2019 536.0
As is plain to see, emissions go down under a Labor government and up under a Coalition government.
Labor’s short-lived carbon price raised $15.4 billion in revenue from polluters which was passed on to the public via a large increase in the tax-free threshold and additional payments to welfare recipients and families with school-aged children. Trade-exposed industries also received assistance to transition and had incentive to invest in more sustainable practice.
Conversely, the Coalition have spent billions of public money on their Direct Action strategy only to see emissions rise again.
When more people voted for Labor and the Greens, to claim a mandate for the Coalition’s inaction on climate change is beyond despicable.
You can’t have a mandate for a lie.
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