A new analysis shows that the costs of buying carbon credits to comply with Australia’s climate target will be less than 0.1 per cent of the multibillion-dollar profits of major mining and gas companies, adding pressure on the government to restrict the use of credits to place the burden of emissions cuts on polluters who can afford them.
The federal government recently upgraded its climate target to cut emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and will use a policy known as the Protection Mechanism to impose pollution limits on the 215 largest industrial emitters to provide a significant portion of the greenhouse gas savings needed to reach.
Bucket wheel recovery tool in the coal stockpile of the port of Newcastle.attributed to him:Bloomberg
The Federal Department of Energy is considering allowing companies to buy Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to offset their emissions rather than investing directly in new technology, and cuts to target industries.
The Greens and independent senators who can hold critical votes for the government to pass safeguard reforms through Parliament want the government to restrict or deny fossil fuel companies’ access to ACCUs.
Analysis by the Parliamentary Library showed that gas giant Woodside would have to pay between $2.6 million and $4.4 million annually in 2025 to comply with required emissions reductions for its stake in the North West Shelf gas business in Western Australia. This is between 0.05 percent and 0.09 percent of the company’s annual profit in 2022.
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Major miner AngloAmerican will have to pay between $2.6 million and $4.5 million by 2025 – equivalent to just 0.014 percent to 0.025 percent of its annual profit in 2022 – to cover the annual emissions-reduction requirements for its stake in the Capcoal mine in Queensland.
Companies subject to the protection mechanism will likely be required to reduce their emissions by 3 to 6 percent annually. Pollution ceilings will decrease over time, with the ultimate goal of reaching net zero emissions across the economy by 2050 by encouraging companies to decarbonize, such as switching from gas and coal-fired power to zero-emissions electricity.
Green Party leader Adam Bandt said the projected costs for coal and gas companies were “just coins under the sofa” and under the policies being proposed they would “easily buy their way out of the scheme”.
Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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