EMISSIONS IN AUSTRALIA: LOOKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY

This discussion arises in the context of a failing trading scheme in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). To bring traders in, the government initially made credits too available. Then the federal government announced it would put a national program in place, further diminishing the value of the NSW credits. Now credits are worth less than half what they first cost, the program is about to collapse and opponents to trading are calling for a politically unpopular tax instead. The Howard federal government should thank Premier Iemma for illuminating pitfalls to be avoided by the national program -- and bail NSW out.

Big firms set for carbon opportunities
September 11, 2007 (Australian Associated Press via Yahoo 7 News)

WHO
Australian big business and energy producers and Australian environmental advocates: Citigroup, BP, Chevron, Santos Ltd, Rio Tinto Ltd, Worley Parsons Ltd, Environment Business Australia (EBA), Australian Business and Climate Group.

click to enlarge

WHAT
Australian business, energy company and environmental leaders are looking into the “carbon constrained” future and beginning to select ways they might be able to take advantage of the changing circumstances.

WHEN
Australian PM John Howard and New Zealand PM Helen Clark announced in June an emissions trading plan to begin in mid 2008. Hopes that Howard could draw the nations of APEC into the plan were dashed earlier this month.

WHERE
- The Howard-Clark plan will apply to Australia and New Zealand.
- Santos is building a 400 million ton geologic carbon sequestration facility in Victoria’s Cooper Basin at Moomba. The location was chosen to service big emitting energy generators in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. ( NewEnergyNews: For the sake of the citizens of Moomba, let’s hope the not-yet-proven geologic storage concept proves safe.)

WHY
- Many of the Australian energy companies are working to make carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) effective at commercial scale.
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts $20 trillion investment in new energy technologies. The Environment Business Australia (EBA) think tank advises directing the investment to low and zero emissions infrastructure.
- Australian General Electric is pursuing its worldwide Ecomagination development and PR campaign with expansion in renewable energy, clean coal, lower emissions aircraft engines, hybrid locomotives, recycled bottle chandeliers and disposable paper office furniture.
- Australian business is moving ahead because the Howard/Clark program creates a certain amount of certainty about standards on which business on plan. Wider acceptance of a Kyoto Protocols-like worldwide standard would preferable but since APEC backed away a binding agreement, Australian business must move ahead.

Sequestration strategies are unproven and imperfect but the UN is now willing to certify any site that meets Clean Development Mechanism criteria -- and tt's better than just spewing the stuff. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Elaine Prior, research director, Citigroup: "Real momentum with such opportunities, some of which involve multi-billion dollar investments, requires a strong carbon price signal…Australian companies see potential opportunities to grow these types of businesses overseas…Clean coal technologies commercialised in Australia might, for example, be used in China."
- Susie Smith, sustainability advisor, Santos: “Santos has worked with the Australian Business and Climate Group, and there is bipartisan support for emissions trading and what business is looking for is that certainty, so we can plan and develop some of these projects…There is not one silver bullet, there needs to be a portfolio of policy (such as) emissions trading, technology development, energy efficiency but also with energy solutions and not putting all your eggs in one basket."