As politicians take the razor to state and federal “complementary” climate policies, Fergus Green at Insdide Story examines the case for these policies with the federal carbon price looming
Emissions Trading Scheme
Parkinson: why the carbon crash is good
Of all the equity and commodity prices that plunged last week in the global market carnage, the most dramatic falls came in the European and international carbon price, writes Giles Parkinson.
Abbott’s European holiday might make him hot and bothered
Tony Abbott has begun his holiday in Europe but one wonders why he chose to visit a region that has had a price on carbon since 2005 and now has the largest multi-national emissions trading scheme in the world, writes Ellen Sandell.
Parkinson: carbon chaos in Canberra
There is good reason why the government did not release the details of its carbon pricing package before the weekend, writes Giles Parkinson, of Climate Spectator.
Plebiscite a key to making Abbott’s life easier
The words of the NZ PM on emissions trading hinted at why Tony Abbott ran with a poorly-devised plebiscite stunt.
Look beyond a carbon price and examine whether your cuts will count
The way in which the CPRS set both a cap above which emissions could not rise and a floor below which emissions could not fall was widely debated, if not widely understood, during 2009 and 2010. But those lessons need to be learnt again, writes Dr Richard Denniss.
How do you halve emissions by 2025? Look to the UK…
The United Kingdom is set to become a world leader on clean energy and climate policy, after announcing an ambitious plan to halve carbon emissions by 2025, reports Amber Jamieson.
A hopeful tale for climate change policy
Take a look around the world and you’ll find that 32 countries now have emissions trading schemes — including the UK and the EU. Even China has committed to putting a price on carbon next year. Let’s talk about the good news, writes Ellen Sandell.
Labor doesn’t want any risks — except, it seems, with the planet
How does it make sense to pay for a scheme that reduces pollution by taking money from a scheme that eliminates pollution? asks Amanda McKenzie, national director, Australian Youth Climate Coalition
Mungo MacCallum: The Wimp v the Wuss
Never has the Prime Ministership of Australia been contested by such a pair of abject, craven, weak-kneed, whey-faced, chicken-hearted, lily-livered, jelly-bellied milksops. And what a lead up to the so-called Great Debate: The Wimp versus The Wuss, says Mungo MacCallum.
No carbon price? You’re being conned
If you can put aside the high and rising costs of failing to commence Australia’s transition from one of the world’s biggest carbon addicts to a low-carbon economy aside, our handling of climate policy has been the stuff of priceless comedy.
New Zealand no longer the land of the long black cloud?
Don’t look now, but it seems our cousins from across the ditch have shown us up once again. The country’s conservative government has brought in an ETS.
Grattan: Rudd and Turnbull are the odd couple of Oz politics
Both ousted largely due to their stance on an emissions trading scheme, Rudd and Turnbull are now the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau of federal politics, awkwardly relegated to the peripheries of their party’s battle plans, writes Michelle Grattan.
Atkins: Killing the ETS killed Rudd’s popularity
It’s not the mining tax that’s had a massive effect on Rudd’s polling, it’s voters becoming disillusioned by the shelving of the ETS. But he will lead the party to the next election, writes Dennis Atkins.
Bernardi: Malcolm misled us
There’s no partyroom secrets when Cory Bernardi’s on tour, as he gives the US Heartland Institute the good oil on Malcolm Turnbull’s many faults and how he personally saved Australia from an ETS.
Why it’s great that the ETS got the chop
The most frustrating argument in support of the CPRS was this notion that, even though it was acknowledged as appalling policy, “something is better than nothing”. Sounds nice, but it’s a logical fallacy, writes Tim Hollo.
great read Gittins: Australia is no longer a miner player
Australia has a long history of brilliant political ideas — preferential voting, HECs system — yet lately we wimp out on big ideas that have international repercussions. We’re not as small as we think we are, writes Ross Gittins.
Hyperbole: the ghost haunting our government
First, the government calls for an enquiry. After months of work and millions of dollars, a paper is released. Then, results are twisted for short term political gain and no real change is made. Rudd’s spin is killing them, writes Ben Eltham.
Farr: Turnbull’s turnaround
It’s election year and nobody likes either Rudd or Abbott. Malcolm Turnbull is slowly bidding his time and proving himself as the only leader who doesn’t constantly flip flop on his beliefs, writes Malcolm Farr.
Crikey Says: More dirty power, more dirty politics
Labor’s emissions trading scheme was a deeply flawed mechanism. But it was a start. Now, like Turnbull’s prime ministerial ambitions, on climate change, we are nowhere.
Bureaucracy: the real pollutant
Our government is a mess of red tape and regulations. If we applied a cap and trade scheme to bureaucracy, perhaps we could actually get policies put into action, says Oliver Marc Hartwich.
Do you have the “I’ve done my bit” feeling?
So while K-Rudd et al. are busy ensuring that Australia doesn’t act on climate change, what can the average Australian do to reduce their own carbon footprint? asks Matt de Neef.
The smoking gun: Labor always planned to shut the Greens out of the ETS
It was always Kevin Rudd’s political strategy to do a deal on an ETS with the Opposition, and to shut the Greens out of any negotiations. And now there’s proof, says the Greens’ Tim Hollo.
China likely to introduce carbon price before Australia
The Australian policy to not reintroduce CPRS legislation until 2013 leaves the country in danger of being left behind, with China being far more progressive on climate action, writes Peter Wood.
Uhlmann: Meltdown, schmeltdown, Rudd’s a climate wimp
Rudd’s just bowling a nude ball when it comes to his handling of the ETS. What happened to “delay equals denial” and “too much time wasting”? asks Chris Uhlmann.
