Reaching the nation’s 2020 carbon emissions target will be easier than previously estimated, according to informal departmental advice provided to Australia’s new Environment Minister.
Greg Hunt said the advice backed up what he had been saying in opposition and he was confident Australia would meet its target easily.
The Coalition supports an unconditional 5 per cent emissions cut by 2020 on 2000 levels. It would increase that to 15 or 25 per cent depending on international climate action.
Mr Hunt said falling international demand for some electricity-intense manufacturing, such as aluminum, and a carry-over allowance of carbon permits under the Kyoto Protocol had reduced the gap between Australia’s emissions and the target stated by the previous government.
”So our real target is only about 60 per cent of what it was, what the [Labor] government had been saying it was. And that fits almost exactly with what I was saying from the opposition benches,” he said.
Some independent modelling has questioned the ability of the Coalition’s direct action policy - the government’s replacement for the carbon tax - to meet targets.
Under direct action, a $2.55 billion fund will be set up to buy emissions reductions from companies and farmers. Companies will also be given an emissions intensity baseline and will face penalties if they breach it.
One analysis commissioned by the Climate Institute found direct action was $4 billion short of meeting the 5 per cent cut.
Last Friday Mr Hunt ordered the department to begin drawing up plans for a new Great Barrier Reef trust to draw together public and private money for projects to tackle crown-of-thorns and water quality problems.
