Antinuclear

Broadcast: 25/06/2014

Reporter: Sarah Ferguson

Greens leader Christine Milne welcomes Clive Palmer’s opposition to abolishing the renewable energy target and the climate change authority but thinks he may be having it ‘both ways’ on his emissions trading suggestions.

SARAH FERGUSON: Yes, but not with our major trading partners, not with the US, not with China, not with Japan and not with South Korea, so it is something different.

CHRISTINE MILNE: Well, that’s the problem with Mr Palmer: I’m not sure how much he understands or whether this is a cynical ploy to make it look as if he wants emissions trading whilst actually abolishing the (audio problems) … or whether his amendments would apply to the existing scheme and that’s where he needs to come out and clarify his position. …….

Clive Palmer has thrown into chaos Tony Abbott’s plan to abolish the carbon tax, demanding the Prime Minister instead create an emissions trading scheme that would swing into action when Australia’s major trading partners adopt similar measures.

A day before Mr Palmer sits down with Mr Abbott to discuss the federal budget and the government’s signature pledge to repeal the carbon tax, the erratic Palmer United Party leader was joined by former US vice-president Al Gore to announce his position on a suite of climate change legislation.

Mr Palmer said his trio of senators would move to enshrine in law a guarantee that energy producers pass on to households the benefits of repealing the carbon tax, while they would also move to block the government’s plans to scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and potentially wind back the Renewable Energy Target, which mandates 41,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity be produced by large clean energy sources by 2020.

The abolition of the independent Climate Change Authority would also be opposed.

Mr Palmer said his party would move to legislate an emissions trading scheme with a starting price of zero dollars.

”The government and the parliament of the day have the ability to set the financial parameters of the [emissions trading] scheme based on the action of our leading trading partners such as China, the United States, the European Union, Japan and Korea,” he said.

In a later interview on ABC’s Lateline, Mr Palmer made clear that repeal of the carbon tax was contingent on energy producers refunding to consumers the benefits of the repeal of the tax.

But it would not be contingent on the other measures Mr Palmer proposed on Wednesday night, such as the proposed emissions trading legislation.

The proposal to introduce the ETS in the Senate would be attached to the bill that would repeal the Climate Change Authority and the PUP would attempt to have that passed by the Senate.

“We want a scheme that is conditional upon other countries and doesn’t become operable until those countries do that, introduce a similar measure,” he said.

Mr Palmer also said his party had not adopted a final position on whether to oppose or support the abolition of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency……..

Mr Palmer said his discussions with Mr Gore had helped him reconsider the ”important issues facing Australians and the rest of the world”.

The PUP leader said the government’s Direct Action policy was ”a waste of money” and should not be implemented when Australians faced other unfair budget measures………

PUP ally Ricky Muir, of the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, and other cross-bench senators John Madigan and Nick Xenophon are looking closely at the merits of renewable energy. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/shock-and-gore-clive-palmer-shows-his-hand-20140625-3atpd.html#ixzz35ndf8vLk

Tim Buckley, a former head of equity research at Citigroup, once spent his days doing financial modelling for conglomerates like Wesfarmers, which has a coalmining business.

When you talk to them privately, they say to do the right thing while the government is doing the wrong thing is actually going to cost our business.

Now he works for the US-based pro-renewable energy group Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. One of his projects is demonstrating why spending $40 billion on coalmines and infrastructure in Queensland’s Galilee Basin doesn’t make financial sense.

His aim is to convince superannuation funds, lenders and governments that funding infrastructure for the projects would be a bad long-term investment and they should focus on energy sources with more promising futures, such as solar and wind………

‘Evidence’ top miners know

He says BHP Billiton’s decision to stop investing in new coal projects and Rio Tinto’s $US1 billion ($1.05 billion) sale of its Clermont mine in Queensland are evidence that even the top miners recognise the way the world is heading.

He would like to convince the big four banks to stop lending to coal­miners, but says that is unlikely under the current government.

“When you talk to them privately, they say to do the right thing while the government is doing the wrong thing is actually going to cost our business,” he says. “They say it will damage their political standing in Canberra.”……..

‘Evidence’ top miners know

He says BHP Billiton’s decision to stop investing in new coal projects and Rio Tinto’s $US1 billion ($1.05 billion) sale of its Clermont mine in Queensland are evidence that even the top miners recognise the way the world is heading.

He would like to convince the big four banks to stop lending to coal­miners, but says that is unlikely under the current government.

“When you talk to them privately, they say to do the right thing while the government is doing the wrong thing is actually going to cost our business,” he says. “They say it will damage their political standing in Canberra. : http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/swapping-picket-lines-for-pinstripes-meet-the-new-face-of-anticoal-activism-20140624-3aqeu.html#ixzz35ngwl0eW