Major polluting companies believe a carbon price will be reintroduced in Australia some time in the future, according to the first business survey released after its repeal.
The survey of major Australian energy, mining, construction and manufacturing firms also found that 77 per cent of those who responded did not believe the repeal of the carbon price scheme was likely to reduce their overall costs.
Led by Deakin University, the study was carried out between April and June this year - before the repeal was passed by the Senate, but when there was a general expectation it would occur.
The survey was sent to 436 firms required to report their emissions to the federal government annually. About 20 per cent - 87 companies - responded. The responses were given on the condition of anonymity.
Director of Deakin University’s Centre for Sustainable and Responsible Organisations, Nava Subramaniam, said the respondents reflected a good spread of industries, including some of the biggest companies in the country.
Nearly 80 per cent of respondents believed some form of carbon pricing would return. Professor Subramaniam said comments from the companies indicated this view was influenced by international developments and a feeling a future change of federal government would lead to a change in climate policy.
The survey also found 87 per cent of companies had a ”neutral” stance on whether they would participate in the Coalition’s replacement policy - the Emissions Reduction Fund, which is part of its direct action approach, under which the government would encourage companies and landowners to cut emissions.
But a majority - 55 per cent - said they did not believe it would be easy to participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund, and a similar proportion said the policy did not offer many benefits to their firm.
“There is no optimism at all, they did not say it was easy for the firm to participate in the [Emissions Reduction Fund]. They felt the government information given was rather poor,” Professor Subramaniam said.
In other results, three-quarters of companies said they had made ”some” to ”a great deal” of investment in controlling their emissions in the past three years. More than half said this investment had increased substantially over the same timeframe.
About half of companies believed they had little choice but to continue to invest in carbon dioxide emissions management in the future.
The report authors said the findings showed the federal government could not assume that repeal of the carbon tax had removed regulatory uncertainty, and recommended it provide clearer information on the Emissions Reduction Fund.
