CLIMATE POLICY NEEDS FLEXIBILITY AND STAGED TRANSITION

The Australian Food and Grocery Council said that the climate policy announced today by the Federal Opposition will need careful consideration and an effective transition to ensure the policy objectives are met while enabling businesses to adjust.

AFGC CEO Ms Tanya Barden said that the $132 billion food and grocery sector broadly supports striking the right balance between the need to reduce emissions whilst maintaining an environment conducive to business investment and growth.

“The Opposition’s announcement is consistent with the need to enhance emission reduction targets over time in order to mitigate the risks of climate change. However we need to ensure that businesses have the time to adjust, otherwise we run the risk of increasing costs and having unintended consequences of losing jobs or even worse factories moving offshore,” said Ms Barden.

“Australia’s largest manufacturing sector, the food and grocery sector, is highly trade exposed and at a time of increased costs, maintaining business competitiveness should remain a key priority and requires an orderly policy transition.”

“A 45% emissions reduction target for 2030 represents a significant challenge for many companies who could be captured under the expanded Safeguard threshold. The flexibility of enabling companies to access least-cost abatement from domestic and international off set permits is welcome and we look forward to consulting on their limits and quality.”

“The food and grocery sector recognises the need to invest in clean technologies and has been doing do for several years. Given the cost pressures the sector is currently facing, there will be a need for government/ industry co-investment if we are to expedite the transition to cleaner technologies,” said Ms Barden.

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AFGC Media Contact: James Mathews 0407 416 002