EU to hit Australia with a border tax on carbon emissions
Feb 8 2021
New Daily

Australia’s free ride on climate change is set to end, with the European Union taking the first step to introduce a cross border carbon tax.

The European Parliament gave the nod to the move on Friday, which means Australian products entering the EU will be hit by a tariff to make up for the fact Australia has no price on carbon.

“It would be a major blow for the Australian government both economically and diplomatically,” said John Quiggin, economics professor at the University of Queensland.

The move has been on the international agenda for some time and has been taken increasingly seriously since Australia dropped its carbon tax in 2014 following the election of the Abbott government.

“It has been talked about a lot in recent years and the election of [US President] Joe Biden means there is a renewed focus on climate policy around the globe,” said Scott Hamilton, consultant to the Smart Energy Council.

“Everyone is getting serious about it except the Australian government.”

Hitting home
Australia’s lack of a coherent energy policy is starting to hit the energy sector locally and is eroding investment plans from major players.

Last week, generation giant AGL Energy wrote down its assets by $2.7 billion and Origin Energy signalled its earnings would be 13 per cent, or $175 million, below expectations.



“AGL has written down a massive $2.7 billion from its asset base because of lower prices for base load coal and losses on forward power purchase agreements,” Tom Allen, energy analyst with UBS, told The New Daily.

AGL had agreed to buy renewable power for over $80 a megawatt hour but the price has since fallen below $50.

Origin’s write-downs consisted of $100 million from gas and $75 million from power generation as prices fell. Without a firm government energy policy in place and with large amounts of new wind power hitting the market, AGL’s coal generation was hit by price drops.

The resulting collapse in the price of wind power meant that previous renewable purchase deals that AGL had made at higher prices became loss makers.

New investment barred
With numerous coal plants scheduled to close in coming years, the market needs AGL to invest in new gas generation to balance growing renewables.

But energy giants AGL and Origin are in a tough bind, as the Morrison government has pledged to help smaller players build gas plants and threatened to build one itself.

‘It is very hard for AGL to make investment decisions about new generation when your competition might get a Commonwealth subsidy and you don’t know how much that will be,” Mr Allen said.

The uncertainty extends to the Prime Minister’s plans for a gas-powered revival in manufacturing, as investment becomes impossible when energy supply is uncertain.


The world is moving quickly to decarbonise and Australia is increasingly being left behind.

“In Europe, they are tightening the rules with major manufacturing  having new emissions reductions targets for 2030 and 2050,” Mr Hamilton said.

“Germany has just put €9 billion ($14.2 billion) on the table for a new green hydrogen strategy and the UK committed to a net zero 2050 target and ambitious 2030 targets.

“Australia is becoming more and more isolated with an emissions reduction target of 26 to 28 per cent reductions on 2005 levels and no clear path to net zero. Others are in the mid to high 30s.”

Scottish test
Mr Hamilton said “it will all come to a crunch later this year with the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow”.

Newly appointed US Climate Commissioner John Kerry has described it as “the last best chance“ to avert the worst environmental consequences for the world.

The pressure from America will add to that from Europe, with Professor Quiggin saying the US and China were likely to follow suit with carbon border taxes of their own.

“Joe Biden has talked about it already. It’s possible that China will go in this direction too,” he said.

“Australia needs to take the matter seriously.

“The main political parties are worried about what Craig Kelly and Joel Fitzgibbon think about this. They aren’t worried about what Europe and the US are thinking.”

“[Major trading partners] Korea and Japan are already on board with a 2050 target but there is no public sign that we are paying attention to it,” Professor Quiggin said.

“It’s not just about energy – it’s about trade. A cross border tariff would be a tax on everything we export.”

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan told The New Daily that “we do not want to see carbon tariffs used as a new form of protection”.

Australia wanted to be sure climate change engagement and meeting emissions reductions targets were carried out constructively, Mr Tehan said.

https://i.imgur.com/jfGeaSH.jpg

;D

Solution to "Net Zero" found! ...

We all have to become Amish.  :D

https://i.imgur.com/9lu1ge3.jpg

we could have been world leaders in the fight against climate change ... instead we're the laughing stock

John Smith wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 3:32pm:

we could have been world leaders in the fight against climate change ... instead we're the laughing stock

Smith -
why are you posting when you're banned?

https://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1612043899

https://i.imgur.com/3gdgHeq.jpg

Xi-Saw

;D

whiteknight wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 5:50am:

EU to hit Australia with a border tax on carbon emissions Feb 8 2021 New Daily Australia’s free ride on climate change is set to end, with the European Union taking the first step to introduce a cross border carbon tax. The European Parliament gave the nod to the move on Friday, which means Australian products entering the EU will be hit by a tariff to make up for the fact Australia has no price on carbon.

I have been proposing exactly this for some time.

freediver wrote on Feb 13^th, 2021 at 2:42pm:

whiteknight wrote on Feb 9th, 2021 at 5:50am: EU to hit Australia with a border tax on carbon emissions Feb 8 2021 New Daily Australia’s free ride on climate change is set to end, with the European Union taking the first step to introduce a cross border carbon tax. The European Parliament gave the nod to the move on Friday, which means Australian products entering the EU will be hit by a tariff to make up for the fact Australia has no price on carbon. I have been proposing exactly this for some time.

Do you reckon Albo will have a policy to put a price on Carbon?

Gillard obviously did, and Turnbull has supported it in the past. With the only viable alternatives being far worse for the economy, and this European import tax on the agenda, I think it is pretty much inevitable.

Most Australian coal is not going to Europe. So the European gesturing/gesticulating is just that.

China has built more coal fired power stations in any given year than the rest of the world put together.
Where is all that coal coming from? And who is buying all the cheap poo China produces on the back of all that coal generated energy??

Quote:

Most Australian coal is not going to Europe. So the European gesturing/gesticulating is just that.

It's not a coal tax Frank.

freediver wrote on Feb 13^th, 2021 at 9:33pm:

Quote: Most Australian coal is not going to Europe. So the European gesturing/gesticulating is just that. It's not a coal tax Frank.

What isn't a coal tax?  The European grandstanding/gesticulation is not a coal tax? Tax on energy generated by coal? 

'Europe' is a vast bureaucratic machine, like Canberra to the Nth degree. It's undemocratic, spiteful,  27 cats in a bag. As a political entity it is doomed.

But they have no tax on freediver. So that's  good, then.

Frank wrote on Feb 13^th, 2021 at 9:52pm:

freediver wrote on Feb 13th, 2021 at 9:33pm: Quote: Most Australian coal is not going to Europe. So the European gesturing/gesticulating is just that. It's not a coal tax Frank. What isn't a coal tax?  The European grandstanding/gesticulation is not a coal tax? Tax on energy generated by coal?  'Europe' is a vast bureaucratic machine, like Canberra to the Nth degree. It's undemocratic, spiteful,  27 cats in a bag. As a political entity it is doomed. But they have no tax on freediver. So that's  good, then.

The European tax is not limited to coal. They can tax whatever they want.

Once the carbon derivatives market is up and running CO2 will stop being in the news as public enemy number 1.

Your super and other shares will be invested in this market where all countries pay for the free air above their borders.

And if the targets are missed it wont matter much anymore, they will just kick the can down the road like they have been doing for the last 30 years.

How many times have we passed the point of no return, too many to recite.

This stupid generation will be locked into financial slavery and they will be loving it.

I say well done to the oligarchy, if they are sheep then they shall be shorn.


Ajax wrote on Jan 31^st, 2021 at 8:54am:

Quote: Costing the Earth: Funding city climate initiatives with green banks by Sue Weekes: News editor, Smart Cities World Green banks are on the rise as cities look for ways to fund essential work to prevent climate change and its effects. The world needs to spend $2.4 trillion every year until 2035 to mitigate the effects of climate change. This was the stark reality delivered by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. Cities recognise they need to be on the frontline of the action and a growing list have officially declared a climate emergency, including Krakow, London, Liverpool, Paris, New York and Sydney. According to the Climate Emergency Declaration and Mobilisation in Action (Cedamia) website, more than 888 jurisdictions in 18 countries, covering 161 million citizens, have now declared such an emergency. As the IPCC highlights, though, fighting climate change costs and the race is on to find sustainable ways to fund green initiatives in cities around the world. This is bringing new momentum behind the green bank movement. On July 2, Washington, DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, signed the District’s Green Finance Authority Establishment Act, officially making it the first city in the country to establish a government-funded green bank. The bank is being capitalised with $105 million of public funds. The world needs to spend $2.4 trillion every year until 2035 to mitigate the effects of climate change. The rest here, https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/special-reports/special-reports/costing-the-ear....

whiteknight wrote on Feb 9^th, 2021 at 5:50am:

“Germany has just put €9 billion ($14.2 billion) on the table for a new green hydrogen strategy and the UK committed to a net zero 2050 target and ambitious 2030 targets. “Australia is becoming more and more isolated with an emissions reduction target of 26 to 28 per cent reductions on 2005 levels and no clear path to net zero. Others are in the mid to high 30s.”

So somebody in authority please tell us exactly what CO2 overturn is in Australia per annum. I have seen estimates of 700Mt to in excess of 100Mt. Australia's emissions are about 530-560 depending on the source. That means Australia is a net carbon Dioxide sink. That is we already are below net zero emissions.