Australia facing $2 billion cost in early closing of carbon price scheme
Early repeal of carbon price scheme could cost government $2bn Financial Review 11 OCT 2013 GEMMA DALEY AND JAMES MASSOLA
The Coalition government could owe companies billions in refunds for freely allocated permits if it repeals the current Carbon Pricing Scheme before 2015, fresh analysis shows.
The early repeal of the scheme could lead to a cash windfall for metals, energy and power stations – the most intensive emitters – as they cash in on freely allocated permits, RepuTex analysis said.
“The earliest the carbon tax is likely to be disbanded is the start of October 2014, meaning that companies are likely to be liable for their emissions over the first quarter of the compliance year, but eligible to receive more free permits, which could be sold back to the government before the repeal takes effect,” said RepuTex head of research, Bret Harper. The government could end up with “a bill in excess of $2 billion to cash in nearly 87 million freely allocated permits”…..
Mr Harper said the earlier the scheme is disbanded, the higher the cost to government, with more excess permits being sold back by companies.
“If the repeal is held back until April 2015, the cost to government would only be around $138 million, as companies would continue to accrue carbon liabilities through the year, and would therefore have fewer permits to sell back to the government from their free allocation,” said Mr Harper……
MORE DETAIL NEEDED
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson said business wanted more detail from the federal government about how the Direct Action policy would work…..http://www.afr.com/p/australia2-0/early_repeal_of_carbon_price_scheme_SUY0FQ0LUJReEPyjOkSiJN
The hidden high costs of repealing Australia’s carbon tax
Repealing the carbon tax: hidden costs and unanswered questions 16 October 2013, The Conversation, Rosemary Lyster, Professor of Climate and Environmental Law at University of Sydney
There are reasons Australia has a price on carbon. Let’s recap.
The IPCC has released its Fifth Assessment Report stating that the increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide is unprecedented in the last 800,000 years.
Data sets show a globally averaged combined land and ocean surface warming of 0.85C between 1880–2012. There’s a 95-100% probability that more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 is human induced.
By 2081-2100, under the IPCC’s best case emissions scenario, temperatures could rise by as much as 1.7C and in the worst case scenario by 4.8C. Our last summer broke 123 extreme weather records in 90 days. Last month was Australia’s hottest ever September on record. So what are our current emissions?
Australia’s December 2012 National Greenhouse Gas Accounts show that since 1990, emissions from the electricity sector grew 47.3%, the stationary energy sector 44.5%, transport 47.5%, fugitive emissions (including from coal mining) 30.5% and industrial processes 30.8%.
These sectors are all covered by the carbon price mechanism (CPM).
Let’s recap the Abbott government’s agenda to reduce our emissions. The Climate Commission has been abolished. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will be abolished. We no longer have a Department of Climate Change. Yesterday, thedraft legislation to repeal the carbon price mechanism, to be the first item of business for the 44th Parliament, was revealed.
This means, briefly, that if the legislation passes the following will occur.
There will be no annual cap on Australia’s escalating emissions.
Financial year 2013-14 will be the last year that the carbon price mechanism applies and all charges for non-compliance will be repealed. The government will not extend what it calls the “carbon tax” even if the Parliament does not pass the repeal bills until after 1 July 2014. If the bills are not repealed at all, the government will be in breach of the law if it refuses to apply the carbon price mechanism and other carbon price legislation. Calling a double dissolution is a possibility…….
the Abbott government conceals so much.
What will the refunds, rectifications and potential compensation payments arising out of repeal cost taxpayers?
What will it cost taxpayers to deal with extreme weather events? So far extreme weather events influenced by climate change have cost Australia billions of dollars. Insurance premiums are rising and areas becoming uninsurable. Before the 2013 floods, Munich Re reported that financial losses from extreme weather events in Australia rose four-fold over the past 30 years…….http://theconversation.com/repealing-the-carbon-tax-hidden-costs-and-unanswered-questions-19203
Uranium miner Paladin has to sell assets to stay afloat?
Hurt by Low Uranium Prices, Paladin Targets Asset Sale WSJ, By Ross Kelly 16 Oct 13 SYDNEY–Paladin Energy Ltd. (PDN.AU) was once among the boldest predators in the uranium industry, buying up deposits of the nuclear fuel in countries as diverse as Niger and Canada to feed a boom in global demand for non-fossil fuels.
Now, the Australian company has turned seller to ease investor concerns over its debt pile, as it racks up losses due largely to the sharp fall in uranium prices since an earthquake triggered an atomic crisis in Japan in early 2011……
It has already cut its exploration budget in half and slashed executive pay by 10% to ease pressure on its balance sheet, but this hasn’t arrested a fall in its share price to near-decade lows.
In August, Paladin said it needed the spot uranium price to average US$42.50 a pound over the coming year or it would run out of cash by the end of September next year without additional cost cuts. That price goal is well below current levels of US$35.25 a pound, near an eight-year low hit last month……
analysts think the sale process could stumble again, given the uncertain outlook for nuclear power.
“Barring a miraculous recovery in the uranium price, the only realistic way to generate enough cash to meet the US$300m convertible maturity in November 2015 is a sale of a stake in Langer Heinrich, which didn’t generate acceptable bids earlier this year,” said Clarke Wilkins, an analyst at Citigroup, who rates Paladin’s stock a sell…..http://online.wsj.com/article/DN-CO-20131016-001298.html
Australia, especially indigenous Australia, vulnerable to climate change extremes
Australia shouldn’t be waiting for more evidence of climate change impacts,such as floods, fires and cyclones.
She says while adaptions can be made by future governments, there should be recognition now of the magnitude of the challenge and of the need to act.
AUDIO: New climate change warnings for Australia http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/10/15/new-climate-change-warnings-australia A leaked draft report by the IPCC outlines a sobering set of climate change challenges faced by Australia. By Ildi Amon (Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
In a report last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded it was more certain than ever that humans were responsible for global warming.That report focused mainly on the science of climate change, rather than on what to do about it.
Now, the Panel is working on a report on climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation, due for release in March.
And, as Ildi Amon reports, a leaked draft of that report by the Panel outlines a sobering set of challenges faced by Australia.According to the leaked draft report, climate change will present Australia with significant heat stress, extreme weather events, and a higher rate of disease in the coming decades.
It says there is high agreement among scientists that Indigenous Australians will face disproportionate harm from climate change. Continue reading
Abbott Government puts renewable energy projects in jeopardy
Abbott risking renewables ‘hiatus‘Business Spectator, 16 Oct, By a staff reporterAcciona Energy chief Andrew Thomson says investment in large-scale renewable energy targets could be put on hold if the Abbott government delayed confirming the Renewable Energy Target, The Australian Financial Review reports.The government is planning to review the RET next year but Mr Thomson said certainty was required to meet the existing 20 per cent, or 41 terawatt hours, target, the newspaper reports….
..Mr Thomson said Acciona’s Spanish parents would redirect capital from Australia as uncertainty reigned.
“There’s no advantage for a country or a market to keep changing the goalposts.”http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/10/16/renewable-energy/abbott-risking-renewables-hiatus
Poor forecast for uranium miners ERA and Paladin
Little optimism in uranium market http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newscolumnists/greg/8739108/little-optimism-in-uranium-market 15 Oct 13 Olympic Dam is Australia’s largest uranium source but outside of the diversified resource conglomerate that is owner BHP Billiton, Australia’s two “big” pure-play uranium producers are Energy Resources of Australia, operating in the Northern Territory and Paladin Energy operating in Namibia. Continue reading
Poor results from uranium producer ERA
Expected slump in ERA results, THE AUSTRALIAN 13 Oct 13
RIO Tinto’s listed uranium subsidiary Energy Resources of Australia has kicked off the September quarter reporting period for the group on the sour note widely expected by investors.
Output from ERA’s Ranger operation in the Northern Territory fell sharply in the quarter because of the exhaustion of open-cut reserves, restricting operations to the processing of lower-grade stockpiles.
Uranium production plunged 51 per cent to 610 tonnes (1.34 million pounds) from the previous corresponding period…..
The new industry of nuclear radiation denial
Plenty of funding is available. The USA’s Department of Energy funds programs worldwide, (including in Australia) to research dodgy science about the safety ‒ even alleged benefits ‒ of low level ionising radiation. Nuclear physicists and others, quite inexpert in this field, pronounce solemnly about non-hazardous nature of low dose radiation.
The anti-science about ionising radiation Independent Australia Some people would have you believe that low level ionising radiation is perfectly safe; this is a sinister and troubling fallacy, says Noel Wauchope. 10 Oct 13 DENIAL OF THE HEALTH EFFECTS of ionising radiation is the latest of the lies against science……….none of these motivations would get “airplay” ‒ would prevail, if it were not for the money motive, – that’s the impetus behind public relations people, consultants, journalists, commentators, TV producers, film-makers, and so on who are paid by think tanks that are fronts for polluting industries and billionaires like the Koch Brothers. And don’t let’s forget the scientists and science media who are paid by governments that are financially beholden to polluting corporations and to the military industrial complex.
There is extensive literature in books and on the Internet about the campaigns of science denial regarding asbestos, tobacco and climate change. These are global campaigns, but Australia is well represented.
The climate sceptic campaign has followed the model of the tobacco lobby…….
neither the “old” nor the “new” media are properly addressing the issue of anti-science about ionising radiation. Continue reading
Former Northern Territory Chief Minister speaks out on nuclear waste dump plan
The Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005 was a draconian piece of legislation that took overriding the territory to a new level. It gave the Commonwealth all the powers it needed to build a nuclear waste facility anywhere in the territory. Environment and heritage laws could be set aside, so could the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. This time Howard was determined to remove all possible resistance.
I argued that this was constitutional thuggery but my protests fell on deaf ears. My state colleagues developed temporary deafness as well. I could understand their logic; their state backyards were safe.
Trucking nuclear waste through Sydney a disaster waiting to happen October 11, 2013 Clare Martin (former chief minister of the Northern Territory.) http://www.smh.com.au/comment/trucking-nuclear-waste-through-sydney-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-20131010-2vb0a.html
As I drove down Mona Vale Road this week on a visit to Sydney, I began to wonder what would have happened if the tanker involved in last week’s fatalities had been transporting nuclear waste. It is not a fanciful thought because that is the present federal proposal: trucking nuclear waste through Sydney streets to a new national storage facility thousands of kilometres away in central Australia.
The accident made me question yet again the sense of that proposal. Is one site for low- and medium-level nuclear waste preferable to many local? Does storing the waste in remote Australia make it safer, more secure? What are the known dangers inherent in nuclear waste storage? We need to discuss these issues. Continue reading
Greens urge Abbott govt to come clean on Trans Pacific Partnership
Greens will move to review flawed and dangerous Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) 08 Oct 2013 | Scott Ludlam Prime Minister Abbott should immediately stop the clock on negotiations over the secret text of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which threatens to further extend the power of foreign multinational companies.
In the event that Parliament ever resumes, the Australian Greens will move for the Joint Standing Treaties Committee to urgently review what the Abbott Government is proposing to sign us up to.
“Most Australians would be horrified if they knew what Tony Abbott might be about to sign away: Australia’s health, environmental and consumer protection laws are on the chopping block,” said Senator Scott Ludlam.
“The transnational tobacco, pharmaceutical and media corporations want to grant themselves the power to sue governments for passing laws they don’t like. Draft copies of the secret trade agreement have been provided to corporate lobbyists but not ordinary citizens. The TPP is an example of massive corporate overreach, and Australians would do well to join with people in other countries objecting to this agreement.
“We understand there are still significant areas of disagreement between governments on the TPP, but that it could be signed as early as the first week of December.
“Last year the Australian Greens secured a recommendation in a Treaties Report that: “prior to commencing negotiations for a new agreement, the Government table in Parliament a document setting out its priorities and objectives including independent analysis of the anticipated costs and benefits of the agreement”.
“Making a statement setting out the costs and benefits of such a dangerous treaty instrument is the very least the Government should do. In the meantime the Greens will work to force disclosure of what this secretive Government is actually up to,” said Senator Ludlam.
The JSCOT Report http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Represe…
Joint statement from Australian, New Zealand and Canadian Greens on TPPA issued August 2012 http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/news-stories/joint-statemen…
Australian government planning to commercialise planned Northern Territory nuclear waste dump?
The Greens say that treating a nuclear waste dump as a growth business is unwise and unwanted. ‘It seems that behind the scenes, (the Abbott government) are developing a business case for the dump with private operators,’ Senator Scott Ludlam said in a statement.
‘As soon as you commercialise a nuclear waste dump, it is in the operators’ interest to look at taking other waste, including other countries’.’
He supports calls for an independent public commission to determine how to safely and responsibly handle Australia’s nuclear waste. This ‘would enable a more sophisticated management regime than the current plan to dump the waste containers in a shed on a cattle station’, he said.
Nuclear tenders snub traditional owners http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=913283 , Tuesday October 8, 2013 The federal government’s plan to manage Australia’s long-term nuclear waste has excluded the stakeholder voices of traditional Aboriginal land owners, an anti-nuclear activist says.
A Federal Court case is set for June to hear the objections of traditional owners at Muckaty Station, who do not want their lands to become a repository for nuclear waste.
But on September 23 the Abbott government called for applications for an initial business case to identify and analyse capability options for the long-term management of Australia’s radioactive waste to ensure it is safely and securely managed.
Applications close on Friday. Continue reading
Australian rare earths company Lynas still on the nose in Malaysia
Residents though remain highly sceptical and opposition candidates running on an anti-Lynas platform won a raft of seats around the plant, in the May general election.
Lynas lost more than $107 million last financial year, and has informed the market that it’s set to report another quarter of reduced output, as it continues to work on the plant’s operational issues.
Deutsche Bank’s Chris Terry says the company’s share price is now around 40 cents, compared with its peak value of $2.30 in early 2011
Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corporation sparks fresh anger in Malaysia ABC News, Kate Arnott for Newsline 9 Oct 13Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corporation is refusing to publicly disclose the location of a permanent waste storage facility for its processing plant in Malaysia.
Earlier this year, Lynas started commercial production of rare earths, which are used in a wide range of high tech equipment, but the plant on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia has been plagued by operational problems. Continue reading
No new renewable energy for Western Australia – says State government
WA government says no to new renewable energy REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 8 October 2013 Western Australia has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. But for the foreseeable future they are likely to go largely undeveloped because the state government has indicated that it will not support any new large scale renewable energy developments on its main grid. It will prefer instead to subsidise the construction of wind farms and solar farms in the eastern states.
The admission came in a series of speeches delivered recently by WA Energy Minister Mike Nahan which highlighted what a dog’s breakfast – and a very expensive dog’s breakfast at that – the state’s electricity grid had become. Continue reading
Australia becoming an international pariah of science denialism?
Australian Environmental Politics in Denial http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46514 Daniel Yeow, Worldwatch Institute, October 7, 2013 We interpret everything according to our own experiences. With that in mind, it would seem somewhat surprising that in Australia, of all places, a startlingly high number of people still deny climate change. Most Australians do believe in it, but in a country that no longer has a science minister, the newly-elected conservative government is populated by “leaders” who believe that it is some kind of conspiracy.The media that the average Australian consumes is overwhelmingly populated by sources which are owned by people of a highly conservative and libertarian belief. Libertarianism—the belief that people should be free to do as they wish so long as they do not impinge on the freedom of others, is a decidedly human-centric philosophy and as such, large-scale environmental problems are generally not well-handled. In the minds of people like Rupert Murdoch, among others, environmental regulations are an unnecessary burden on people’s freedom, and even if you don’t really believe that, if that’s what you read in the newspaper every day, then that’s what you will be led to believe. Continue reading
Australian Council of trade Unions warns government against Muckaty nuclear waste dump plan
ACTU against nuke tip http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/actu-against-nuke-tip/story-fn59noo3-1226734351992#sthash.sbragkQn.dpuf JOE KELLY OCTOBER 08, 2013 THE ACTU has warned the Coalition against proceeding with a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory. The move comes as green groups expressed concern the development of a new business case for the facility could see Australia become a radioactive tip for the rest of the world.1 This month.
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