Rudd abandons own carbon scheme

Climate action group Rising Tide Newcastle has slammed the changes to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme announced today by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

“Kevin Rudd is going to take an already heavily compromised CPRS, make it weaker still, and put the whole thing off for a year. This government may as well admit defeat. In the battle between big business and the climate in Australia, business has won”, said Rising Tide spokesperson Annika Dean.

Included in the changes to the CPRS announced today was an increase in the upper end of the greenhouse target range to 25% reductions by 2020. A minority of environment groups have therefore welcomed the changes, but most groups are not fooled.

“The maximum target may have been increased, but the maximum target has always been completely hypothetical. The government may aim for it, or it may not. And this government has shown that it doesn't aim high. The low end of the target range is much more important, and that target remains at an inconsequential 5% by 2020.

“In addition to that, the government will decrease the price cap on carbon permits to $10 per tonne – so low it will hardly be noticed. And they will hand out even more free permits to heavily polluting industries.

“This is no Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme – it is a Business-As-Usual Scheme, and it has the fingerprints of the aluminium and coal industries all over it.”

“The time for cutting greenhouse pollution was yesterday. Runaway climate change is approaching. We simply cannot put off cutting greenhouse pollution if we want to keep a habitable climate on this planet.”