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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/19/the-last-hope-for-carbon-reduction-in-australia
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| The last hope for carbon reduction in Australia? | The last hope for carbon reduction in Australia? |
| (2 months later) | |
| Christine Milne's offer to Tony Abbott, of a double dissolution trigger based on the Senate’s rejection of his bill to dissolve the clean energy finance corporation, was a smart move. The CEFC, Australia’s "green bank", is the most popular part of the former government’s response to climate change and should be defended. | Christine Milne's offer to Tony Abbott, of a double dissolution trigger based on the Senate’s rejection of his bill to dissolve the clean energy finance corporation, was a smart move. The CEFC, Australia’s "green bank", is the most popular part of the former government’s response to climate change and should be defended. |
| It doesn't appear that the government will take Milne up on her offer. Julie Bishop, the foreign minister, yesterday said "just because you're given a trigger, it doesn't mean you have to pull it." | |
| There's also disquiet in the government's own ranks about the CEFC itself. Members of the Abbott government speak out against the CEFC in public. Privately, some are accepting of its role alongside their own "direct action" policy. Others raise the question: given its commercial orientation, why couldn’t the role the CEFC plays be taken up by the private sector? | |
| The reality is that traditional providers of debt financing have been very slow to understand clean energy technology investments. The skills required to adequately assess the viability of energy efficiency and clean energy loan applications simply aren’t widely available in the private market in Australia. That’s why the CEFC was set up. Without it, job-creating projects to the value of $2.5bn may never have got off the ground. | The reality is that traditional providers of debt financing have been very slow to understand clean energy technology investments. The skills required to adequately assess the viability of energy efficiency and clean energy loan applications simply aren’t widely available in the private market in Australia. That’s why the CEFC was set up. Without it, job-creating projects to the value of $2.5bn may never have got off the ground. |
| The CEFC currently works alongside carbon pricing and the renewable energy target to successfully drive down emissions in Australia. The real question is this: if Abbott doesn't move on the CEFC to prompt a double dissolution, what climate action will remain after 1 July, when the new senate sits? | The CEFC currently works alongside carbon pricing and the renewable energy target to successfully drive down emissions in Australia. The real question is this: if Abbott doesn't move on the CEFC to prompt a double dissolution, what climate action will remain after 1 July, when the new senate sits? |
| If Clive Palmer decides to cave in to Tony Abbott and his senators vote down the carbon price, he’ll likely be joined by the Motoring Enthusiasts' party senator-elect, Ricky Muir. This would make Australia the first country in the world to go backwards on an emissions trading scheme, out of over 40 countries who have them. | If Clive Palmer decides to cave in to Tony Abbott and his senators vote down the carbon price, he’ll likely be joined by the Motoring Enthusiasts' party senator-elect, Ricky Muir. This would make Australia the first country in the world to go backwards on an emissions trading scheme, out of over 40 countries who have them. |
| The senate’s attention will then turn to Abbott’s so-called “direct action” plan. Unless major shifts occur over the next few weeks, the government is unlikely to have the numbers to pass its legislation to establish the emissions reduction fund at the core of direct action. Without strong penalty provisions for polluters who don’t deliver the cuts in carbon pollution they pledge, the government will struggle to get the support of senator Nick Xenophon. But withstrong penalty provisions, Clive Palmer will likely block it. | |
| In light of this potential policy vacuum on carbon pollution – a possible scenario where Australia has neither a carbon price nor a “direct action” plan – the role of the CEFC becomes even more vital. | In light of this potential policy vacuum on carbon pollution – a possible scenario where Australia has neither a carbon price nor a “direct action” plan – the role of the CEFC becomes even more vital. |
| The CEFC needs 38 votes to survive the government’s attempts to abolish it. The Greens and the Labor party will make up 35 votes in the new senate, leaving three remaining from a combination of the Palmer United party, Xenophon, Muir and senator John Madigan. | |
| Xenophon yesterday voted in favour of keeping the CEFC act, and is very supportive of most projects funded by the CEFC, including solar thermal, solar PV and bioenergy projects. While he’d like to see caps on loans provided to wind power, this is best achieved via the investment mandate provided by the environment minister to the corporation, not by abandoning the fund altogether. To save the CEFC outright, this possibility may have to be entertained. | |
| Less clear is where Muir will fall on the CEFC question. It would be a mistake to assume, as some media outlets have done, that Muir will always vote with the Palmer United Party. The agreement between these two parties gives Muir the capacity to vote whichever way he wants. | |
| There’s no reason to assume that he is against investing in clean energy. Indeed, early signs are positive. Yesterday, one of the Motoring Enthusiasts' key party players, Keith Littler, was quoted as saying that the CEFC “appears to be a good thing”. As the registered officer of the party, Littler is in a position to put himself in the senate, should Muir decide that it’s all too hard. Other key influencers in the party also support the CEFC, so it may end up gaining the senator-elect's support. | There’s no reason to assume that he is against investing in clean energy. Indeed, early signs are positive. Yesterday, one of the Motoring Enthusiasts' key party players, Keith Littler, was quoted as saying that the CEFC “appears to be a good thing”. As the registered officer of the party, Littler is in a position to put himself in the senate, should Muir decide that it’s all too hard. Other key influencers in the party also support the CEFC, so it may end up gaining the senator-elect's support. |
| Should Muir vote with Xenophon to save the fund, the green bank’s future could be determined by Madigan, the unlikely senator from the Democratic Labor party. In December last year, Madigan told Fairfax media that he does “not support the abolition of the clean energy finance corporation” and yesterday abstained on the vote in the senate – hopeful signs. | Should Muir vote with Xenophon to save the fund, the green bank’s future could be determined by Madigan, the unlikely senator from the Democratic Labor party. In December last year, Madigan told Fairfax media that he does “not support the abolition of the clean energy finance corporation” and yesterday abstained on the vote in the senate – hopeful signs. |
| Whether Madigan eventually votes in favour of the CEFC will likely depend on whether he becomes aware of the value the fund provides to Australia’s ailing manufacturing sector, especially the opportunities to help manufacturers reduce costs through loans targeting energy efficiency, which are estimated to be worth $2.4 billion in 2020. Given the way the CEFC has already started helping manufacturers tap into these savings, it’s possible Madigan can be convinced of its value. | Whether Madigan eventually votes in favour of the CEFC will likely depend on whether he becomes aware of the value the fund provides to Australia’s ailing manufacturing sector, especially the opportunities to help manufacturers reduce costs through loans targeting energy efficiency, which are estimated to be worth $2.4 billion in 2020. Given the way the CEFC has already started helping manufacturers tap into these savings, it’s possible Madigan can be convinced of its value. |
| Palmer's senators' votes could also be crucial, depending on how Muir, Xenophon and Madigan vote. So far, Palmer has said little on the issue, apart from expressing support for "voluntary" renewable energy measures (as opposed to "mandatory" ones like the carbon price). The CEFC is one of the largest "voluntary" renewable energy schemes in the country, so, going on Palmer’s previous logic, he may well end up voting to keep it. | Palmer's senators' votes could also be crucial, depending on how Muir, Xenophon and Madigan vote. So far, Palmer has said little on the issue, apart from expressing support for "voluntary" renewable energy measures (as opposed to "mandatory" ones like the carbon price). The CEFC is one of the largest "voluntary" renewable energy schemes in the country, so, going on Palmer’s previous logic, he may well end up voting to keep it. |
| With the Senate looking likely to repeal the price on carbon pollution and dismantle the bodies set up to administer it, while blocking Tony Abbott’s plan to pay polluters who promise to pollute less, the CEFC may be the last remaining legacy of the previous government's attempts to tackle climate change. | With the Senate looking likely to repeal the price on carbon pollution and dismantle the bodies set up to administer it, while blocking Tony Abbott’s plan to pay polluters who promise to pollute less, the CEFC may be the last remaining legacy of the previous government's attempts to tackle climate change. |