There were two main news items on the emissions trading front this week:
1) Yesterday the Climate Institute released a study showing that the emissions trading Bill currently before parliament would create a jobs boom, with 26,500 jobs already planned nationwide. Chief executive John Connor said “it’s time the polluters and politicians stopped arguing about climate action policies so we can get to work building these projects and their jobs.”
2) Today the Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull announced that the Liberal-National Coalition would try to postpone a vote on the ETS legislation until 2010. Turnbull said, “Common-sense and prudence, the importance of getting this right, of pursuing a practical outcome that is effective for the environment and does not destroy jobs, demands that the decision on the scheme and the final design of the scheme should be postponed until after Copenhagen [in December].”
Turnbull then offered bipartisan support of 25% emission cuts by 2020. According to Turnbull, “This enables Mr Rudd to go to Copenhagen in the knowledge that the entire Parliament, at least the Government and the Opposition, support the targets he is taking there.”
However, this doesn’t seem like much of a bargaining chip without any legislation in place.
The Greens do not support the bill, and they do not support a delay in the vote. They want to go back to the drawing board.
Once again, the clear loser in this mess is the business investor, and particularly the cleantech investor, who must now contend with additional uncertainty in carbon costs, timing, and even the fundamentals of the scheme design.
A survey of 151 Australian CEOs found that many large businesses have not accounted for carbon costs in their corporate strategy, and around a quarter of those surveyed had not yet taken any action to prepare for the impending carbon pollution reduction scheme.
The survey also found that only 20.5% had designated executive level responsibility for [...]
The Victorian Minster for Energy and Resources, Peter Batchelor, has announced that Melbourne will be the first State to host the prestigious All-Energy Expo. The conference has been held in Aberdeen, Scotland since 2001, and has become Europe’s largest renewable exhibition. According to the press release, last year’s event attracted over 5,000 participants.
“The Brumby Government [...]
About two months ago we noted the announcement by the Green Energy Act Alliance in Canada, that an aggressive feed-in tariff would be put before the Ontario Provincial Legislature. The ambitious plan was to create the price signals that would rapidly increase the uptake of renewable energy in the Province, triggering an influx of private [...]
In July the rubber hits the road for the world’s cheapest car - the Tata Nano. The car will sell for less than $3,000 AUD and demand is so strong they have decided that the first 100,000 customers will be chosen by lottery.
The Nano represents a massive change in personal transport. Chairman Ratan Tata says,
“We [...]
Obama’s stimulus act allocates $4.5 billion USD to develop a smart grid in the US. This is a hefty chunk of change, but is it enough to kickstart a widespread transformation of the electricity infrastructure?
There are many possible smart grid configurations and technologies, but the fundamental concept is that information exchange between power generators and [...]
These days most companies are cutting costs and pulling back on major capital projects. Banks are reluctant to lend and investment dollars are shifting to low-risk safe havens.
Australian companies have bucked this trend. The government’s Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP) has elicited a staggering number of large-scale renewable energy applications. The REDP set out to [...]
A survey of 151 Australian CEOs found that many large businesses have not accounted for carbon costs in their corporate strategy, and around a quarter of those surveyed had not yet taken any action to prepare for the impending carbon pollution reduction scheme.
The survey also found that only 20.5% had designated executive level responsibility for [...]
The latest trading update from EcoSecurities indicates the underlying strength in the recent carbon offset price recovery. EcoSecurities’ Cash balance increased to 53 million euros at the end of Q1/09, from 38.7 million at the end of Q4/08.
Reuters reports,
“The progress that EcoSecurities made in the second half of 2008 continued in 2009 with deliveries [...]
There were two main news items on the emissions trading front this week:
1) Yesterday the Climate Institute released a study showing that the emissions trading Bill currently before parliament would create a jobs boom, with 26,500 jobs already planned nationwide. Chief executive John Connor said “it’s time the polluters and politicians stopped arguing about climate [...]
About two months ago we noted the announcement by the Green Energy Act Alliance in Canada, that an aggressive feed-in tariff would be put before the Ontario Provincial Legislature. The ambitious plan was to create the price signals that would rapidly increase the uptake of renewable energy in the Province, triggering an influx of private [...]
Since Rudd announced a one year delay to the start of emissions trading, Australia’s newspapers have been jam-packed with carbon-related editorials.
Australian businesses may choose to do nothing for another year, but this would be a risky strategy. Giles Parkinson writes in Saturday’s Australian that,
“…there is one inevitability for corporate Australia: whatever the final shape of [...]
These days most companies are cutting costs and pulling back on major capital projects. Banks are reluctant to lend and investment dollars are shifting to low-risk safe havens.
Australian companies have bucked this trend. The government’s Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP) has elicited a staggering number of large-scale renewable energy applications. The REDP set out to [...]
