Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott has announced plans for a $2.5 billion emissions reduction fund in order to reduce carbon levels by 2020 and ensure consumers do not bear the burden of paying for climate change.
The announcement comes just a few months after the Coalition ousted former leader Malcolm Turnbull for supporting the Government’s emissions trading scheme.
Abbott said the plan will be cheaper, simpler and more effective than the Government’s ETS, which is expected to enter Parliament again this week, and will still achieve a 5% reduction in emissions over the next 10 years.
The basis of the plan is a $2.5 billion emissions reduction fund. Abbott said private enterprises will propose methods for reducing emissions and payments for those programs will be made on those proposals.
“This is a system that rewards, rather than punishes. This is not about regulation, but about a market-driven policy. It is driven by rewards, not by policies.”
Abbott said bidders must fulfill three criteria in order to receive funding: the programs must involve a reduction in emissions, they must improve the environment and there must be no burden to consumers.
Some examples of projects included the distribution of environmentally friendly soil, new power stations and tree planting programs.
Additionally, Abbott said the program will put an emphasis on expanding solar technology. “We are the most sun-drenched continent on Earth… why not make use of it?”
Abbott also said the scheme will be capped, so there can be “no cost blow outs”.
“This plan is economically and environmentally responsible. By improving our soil and making more use of our sunshine, I think we can make a policy quintessentially Australian.”
Prime minister Kevin Rudd is expected to introduce the Government’s new emissions trading scheme today, with possible changes based on the last bill’s defeat in Parliament.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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