Local councils need to do their own sums on how much the carbon price will affect them, the federal government has cautioned.
Representatives from 40 councils around the country are in Canberra on Monday for a forum with the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and the Clean Energy Regulator to make sure they have the right information about the carbon price.
Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus said it was important councils did not just take all claims about the impact of the carbon price at face value.
“Some councils appear to be significantly overestimating the impact of the carbon price on landfill, when the vast majority of landfill sites will not be subject to a carbon price at all,” he told the forum.
Only larger landfill sites, which had emissions of more than 25,000 tonnes a year, would be liable for the tax.
Even those could use gas capture technology to cut emissions by up to 75 per cent and get them back under the cap.
Mr Dreyfus told the council representatives there also were opportunities to make money under the carbon pricing scheme.
“A carbon credit can be earned for every tonne of pollution cut or avoided from landfill, and these can be sold on carbon markets generating extra income for councils or landfill operators,” he said.
The climate change department, the regulator and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) would join forces to run support sessions to help councils work out how the carbon price would affect them.
ALGA jointly hosted the forum in Canberra, saying it wanted to ensure councils got accurate information about the obligations and opportunities associated with the carbon price.
The two-day forum also will hear from councils that are implementing new management and accounting systems to deal with changes to their landfills as a result of carbon pricing.
