Industry urges government to maintain commitment to no more, no less on climate change

Australia’s largest manufacturing industry is urging the government to stand by its commitment to “do no more and no less than other advanced economies” on climate change, AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said today.

Ms Carnell said that while the industry supported action on climate change, it didn’t support compromising the competitiveness of Australian manufacturing.

“We absolutely agree with the statement made by the Prime Minister following Copenhagen and Minister Wong statement today that we shouldn’t do any more or less than the rest of the world,” Ms Carnell said.

“But the current government approach of an unconditional 5% reduction asks Australians to pay more than double what communities in similar countries will pay – that won’t cut the mustard with the Australian community and it will be detrimental to trade-exposed industries.”

Government modelling conducted by Treasury in 2009 reported that for the current stated commitment levels, Australians would pay up to three times more than Europeans and about double what Americans will pay by 2020.    

Industry revisions of the Treasury modelling (by Access Economics) found that, with a 5% reduction by Australia and  20% reductions for the other countries* , the government would be asking Australians to shoulder an estimated economic cost of US$785 per capita by 2020.  This compares with US$615 per capita for Canadians, US$349 per capita for Americans and for Europeans just US$186 per capita per annum in GNP losses by 2020. The average for all OECD countries was US$268 per capita per annum.

Ms Carnell said that clearly, Australia’s 5% reduction offer is much more than is warranted under the Prime Minister’s no more, no less promise.  

”The Government must deliver a global deal that doesn’t mean Australian industry will be disadvantaged in global markets. Australian manufacturers are competing directly on supermarket shelves with factories in countries such as China that are not likely to have a carbon cost, “Ms Carnell said.

“Industry is committed to playing its part by measuring and reducing emissions but  Australian-made goods are traded on the global market – the simple fact is, until there is a global deal, they will be more expensive compared to goods that don’t have a carbon charge.

“It’s important that industry is not unfairly disadvantaged and we must ensure that Australia does not become totally reliant on China for our food supply.

“Before reintroducing any legislation on CPRS,  AFGC urges the Government to provide further information about ‘comparable effort’ and the specific criteria the Government is proposing to use to ensure Australians pay ‘no more and no less than other advanced economies, “ Ms Carnell said.

-ENDS-

More information: Jo Thomas, AFGC Director Corporate Affairs 0417 667 169

*20% for the EU based on 1990 emissions, 20% for the USA based on 2005 emissions and 20% for Canada based on 2006 emissions.