Australian firms urged to be early adopters on carbon trading

Australian firms will get advantages from the Federal government’s proposed carbon trading scheme, if other countries follow, eventually.

And given the grim warnings, that the world’s scientists are delivering, on the perils of global warming, it seems very likely that they will.

These are, perhaps, the key points to emerge from a background briefing, that Treasury officials gave yesterday, on their modelling of proposed carbon trading schemes.
The officials, who spoke on background, admitted that some critics believe their assumptions are optimistic.

But they insisted that those assumptions had been subjected to sensitivity testing, to ensure that they are robust.

The officials made no secret of the fact that the proposed scheme will involve cost increases.

But they said that, in most cases, these would be moderate, both for industry and families at home.

Australian families would face bigger electricity and gas bills.

The Treasury model estimates that electricity prices would rise by $4 to $5 a week, for a typical Australian family.

And gas bills would rise by about $2 a week.

But what’s on the plus side?

Good times ahead.
In a foreword to the report, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan says:”Climate change poses a clear risk to Australia’s future prosperity.”

Mr Swan warns, too, that the only way of reducing that risk is making significant reductions in the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

You can get the whole report, at:- http://www.treasury.gov.au/lowpollutionfuture/