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

[Ted Moffett]

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/
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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.
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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.
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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."
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett