There is a lot of misinformation about climate change and the best way to combat it. The most recent science indicates that the potential effects of climate change are only getting worse, and the chance of them happening is much more certain. Economic studies show that the effects will also affect our economy which means less economic growth and fewer jobs. Furthermore, a fact that is not well understood is that Australia produces more carbon pollution per head than any developed country. Unless we address this we will miss out on the opportunities of the future as more and more countries start to move to clean energy economies.
Australia needs to tackle the threat of climate change by cutting our carbon pollution and investing in a clean energy future. There is current discussion about establishing a carbon pricing framework. That framework has a carbon price that will effectively operate as a pollution tax before moving to an emissions trading scheme. A carbon price is considered by some as one of the best way to cut pollution and encourage a new clean energy future but is it?
While the carbon price is not aimed at households it is instead focused on some of our largest industries, but there will be a price impact on households as some of the high polluting industries pass on their additional cost . With these costs being recovered from households, the impact of the carbon price on making these companies responsible for the pollution they create, and trying to force them to pay a price for each tonne of pollution they produce, will be negated. Will this encourage them to produce less pollution and encourage investment in cleaner energy sources? Will it create new jobs being created while ensuring a cleaner Australia?
The Government suggests that every dollar paid by companies will be used to help families with price impacts, to support jobs in the most affected industries, and to tackle climate change. Do you believe that? Will it be like every dollar collected from the fuel parity surcharge will be invested into constructing better roads?
This is currently a contest between a Government that wants to introduce a carbon price and an Opposition that does not.
