Productivity Commission supports Price on Carbon and support for renewables

The Productivity Commission report for the Multi-Party Climate Committee
shows that major countries are moving to transform their economies with
a combination of carbon pricing and direct support for sunrise
industries such as renewable energy, the Greens said today.
The report shows that a wide range of climate policies and industry
measures are in place in all countries analysed: China, the USA, the UK,
South Korea, Japan, Germany and New Zealand.

"In a serious debate, this report would help finally put to rest the
ridiculous notion that Australia might be moving ahead of the world in
putting a price on pollution," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator
Christine Milne, said.
"The inescapable conclusion is that all countries have seen the need to
support sunrise industries like renewable energy directly at the same
time as pricing pollution, and some have achieved this more efficiently
than others.

"The Commission has, however, fallen into the trap of only measuring the
effectiveness of policies in terms of how much they cut pollution in the
short term, ignoring the fact that many of these are very effective
industry development policies designed to transform the economy over the
long term.
"The report shows that pricing carbon is the most efficient way to drive
fuel-switching from coal to gas, but it is not enough to drive the
transition to renewable energy.

"There are good reasons to invest early in innovation and
commercialisation of renewable energy because this reduces the cost of
achieving deep cuts in emissions in the longer term.
"Germany's decision, for example, to invest up front in a renewable
energy boom has driven its pollution cuts and put it in prime position
to reap the benefits of cheaper action over time.

"Germany's world-leading renewable energy policies have had enormous
benefits which aren't measured by this report - a jobs boom, energy
security and cleaner air, amongst them.
"Unfortunately, since the Howard era, Australian policies to drive
renewable energy have been ad hoc and targeted more at photo
opportunities than real industry development. It's no surprise that we
have lost so many economic opportunities to Germany, China and other
competitors.

"The Greens are determined to ensure that, alongside a price on
pollution, we finally put in place well-designed policies and funding
streams that will create a flourishing industry and start building here
in Australia the kind of industrial-scale baseload solar power stations
that are operational right now in Europe and America.
"By investing now in making clean, renewable energy cheaper, we will
make the transformation to a cleaner, healthier more secure economy
cheaper over time.

"If we fail once again to support renewable energy now, we will become
the first generation since the industrial revolution to pass a greater
debt on to our children instead of working to make their lives easier."
The Greens note that this report is a key step in the analysis that the
Productivity Commission will need to undertake in the years ahead to
underpin the principled approach to compensation for trade exposed
industries.
Christine Milne  -  media release  9th June