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The Australian Government’s proposed legislation, the ‘Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme’ (CPRS) employs a system that directly negates voluntary actions to reduce carbon emissions by organisations, individuals, households and community groups who want to actively make a difference in reducing global emissions. The CPRS could seriously impact future work undertaken by SLF and many of our supporting partners through the projects, programs, products and services that we deliver to assist individuals and communities and business transition to lower carbon lifestyles.
Design issues
• The current design of the CPRS does not allow for an adjustment of Australia’s emission reduction targets to recognise independently verified voluntary action. The current design will therefore raise the following issues:
• The current design will remove the incentive for Australian businesses, households and individuals to voluntarily make significant difference to greenhouse emissions.
• The practical effect of the CPRS is an almost complete failure to recognise the voluntary market in Australia, which is currently dynamic and growing, and which plays a number of important but often unacknowledged roles.
• Voluntary abatement action encourages creative solutions and captures (unpaid) volunteer labour.
• Voluntary abatement investment will be driven offshore through purchase of international permits. The government has shown great concern about possible loss of investment in energy intensive industries to other countries, yet it shows no concern about losing investment in the industries that will form a basis of our future economy.
• Buying a permit under the CPRS has no direct link to the kind of abatement that will be implemented as a response. It might be:
- closure of a factory, with loss of jobs;
- purchase of an additional international permit with no local benefit, or
- an improvement in the energy efficiency of a uranium mine or coal-fired power station that the person believes should not exist.
Exploring ‘solutions’
Empower voluntary domestic action and make it count as additional abatement at the time it occurs, and where this can be justified, by establishing a framework that quarantines voluntary abatement activity from CPRS and Kyoto compliance requirements, by:
a) Establishing a register to record the creation of and transactions in Australian voluntary abatement;
b) facilitating monitoring, management and accounting for voluntary abatement which can be certified and cancelled from CPRS and Kyoto caps;
c) stipulating that, in exchange for each unit of certified voluntary domestic abatement the Australian Government will adjust the CPRS and Kyoto caps at the next permit auction after the actual abatement is certified; and
d) establishing institutional arrangements for oversight of the above voluntary abatement framework be established.
This could be achieved by the insertion of a small number of clauses into the legislation implementing the CPRS, giving effect to items (a) to (d) above, in addition to conferring power to make regulations where necessary in relation to consequential details.
This action will mean;
• Any measurable and verified voluntary action in Australia results in an extinguishment of a carbon pollution permit under the CPRS so that there will be less permits available for surrender. This is the approach that has been undertaken in the implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the US.
• The Australian Government extinguishes Kyoto Units equivalent to the measurable and verified voluntary action undertaken in Australia. This ensures that greenhouse emissions in Australia are actually reduced.
SLF’s role
1. Prepare a position document outlining what the issue is, how would affect SLF's work, and how to solve the issues
2. Approach all SLF partners making our position clear, targeting all existing government contacts (local, state and national)
3. Actively approach relevant politicians and government departments of influence to make our position clear and urge them to assist in helping to change the legislation.
4. Sign on to relevant submissions to the government from campaign groups who are advocating changes to the system in relation to the CPRS flaws on voluntary action.
5. Continue to promote relevant campaign action groups through SLF’s platforms.
Further reading
Voluntary Carbon Market Association
http://www.vcma.org.au/
VCMA has made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics into the Exposure Drafts of legislation to implement the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Get Up Campaign
http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/ClimateActionNo...
Relevant Media Coverage
‘Vic carbon cuts 'no help to targets'’, Sydney Morning Herald:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/vi...
Design issues
• The current design of the CPRS does not allow for an adjustment of Australia’s emission reduction targets to recognise independently verified voluntary action. The current design will therefore raise the following issues:
• The current design will remove the incentive for Australian businesses, households and individuals to voluntarily make significant difference to greenhouse emissions.
• The practical effect of the CPRS is an almost complete failure to recognise the voluntary market in Australia, which is currently dynamic and growing, and which plays a number of important but often unacknowledged roles.
• Voluntary abatement action encourages creative solutions and captures (unpaid) volunteer labour.
• Voluntary abatement investment will be driven offshore through purchase of international permits. The government has shown great concern about possible loss of investment in energy intensive industries to other countries, yet it shows no concern about losing investment in the industries that will form a basis of our future economy.
• Buying a permit under the CPRS has no direct link to the kind of abatement that will be implemented as a response. It might be:
- closure of a factory, with loss of jobs;
- purchase of an additional international permit with no local benefit, or
- an improvement in the energy efficiency of a uranium mine or coal-fired power station that the person believes should not exist.
Exploring ‘solutions’
Empower voluntary domestic action and make it count as additional abatement at the time it occurs, and where this can be justified, by establishing a framework that quarantines voluntary abatement activity from CPRS and Kyoto compliance requirements, by:
a) Establishing a register to record the creation of and transactions in Australian voluntary abatement;
b) facilitating monitoring, management and accounting for voluntary abatement which can be certified and cancelled from CPRS and Kyoto caps;
c) stipulating that, in exchange for each unit of certified voluntary domestic abatement the Australian Government will adjust the CPRS and Kyoto caps at the next permit auction after the actual abatement is certified; and
d) establishing institutional arrangements for oversight of the above voluntary abatement framework be established.
This could be achieved by the insertion of a small number of clauses into the legislation implementing the CPRS, giving effect to items (a) to (d) above, in addition to conferring power to make regulations where necessary in relation to consequential details.
This action will mean;
• Any measurable and verified voluntary action in Australia results in an extinguishment of a carbon pollution permit under the CPRS so that there will be less permits available for surrender. This is the approach that has been undertaken in the implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the US.
• The Australian Government extinguishes Kyoto Units equivalent to the measurable and verified voluntary action undertaken in Australia. This ensures that greenhouse emissions in Australia are actually reduced.
SLF’s role
1. Prepare a position document outlining what the issue is, how would affect SLF's work, and how to solve the issues
2. Approach all SLF partners making our position clear, targeting all existing government contacts (local, state and national)
3. Actively approach relevant politicians and government departments of influence to make our position clear and urge them to assist in helping to change the legislation.
4. Sign on to relevant submissions to the government from campaign groups who are advocating changes to the system in relation to the CPRS flaws on voluntary action.
5. Continue to promote relevant campaign action groups through SLF’s platforms.
Further reading
Voluntary Carbon Market Association
http://www.vcma.org.au/
VCMA has made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics into the Exposure Drafts of legislation to implement the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Get Up Campaign
http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/ClimateActionNo...
Relevant Media Coverage
‘Vic carbon cuts 'no help to targets'’, Sydney Morning Herald:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/vi...