Australia's Labor Calls on Government to Cooperate on Climate Policy
June 08 2017 - 2:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Rob Taylor
CANBERRA, Australia--Australia's opposition Labor Party has sent
an olive branch to the conservative government, offering to end
years of sparring over climate policy that triggered the ouster of
three prime ministers.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said he had written to Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull with an offer to work together on how to curb
greenhouse gas emissions and tackle soaring energy prices, just
three years after Australia became the first developed nation to
repeal laws putting a price on carbon.
The offer of a bipartisan approach came ahead of a major review
of the national electricity grid and energy security conducted by
Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel. The review's findings are
due be presented to Mr. Turnbull and leaders of the country's eight
states and territories on Friday.
"Given energy is the lifeblood of the economy, and investment
decisions are taken over 20- and 30-year horizons, we believe it is
time to put an end to the 'climate wars' that have thwarted
sensible energy policy over recent years," Mr. Shorten said in the
letter.
Climate policy remains contentious despite efforts to forge a
consensus globally. President Donald Trump recently said he
withdraw the U.S. from the Paris accord, fulfilling a promise made
during the election campaign last year.
Australia's approach to tackling climate change was experienced
repeated gyrations. In 2009, then-Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's
efforts to set up a cap-and-trade scheme led to his ouster by
deputy Julia Gillard. Party infighting culminated in 2013 with
Labor's defeat by resurgent conservatives who campaigned on a
platform to repeal an unpopular interim levy on carbon.
Pressure has been mounting on Mr. Turnbull to reconsider climate
legislation after an energy crisis last summer triggered multi-day
outages across South Australia state, plunging 1.7 million homes
into darkness and causing almost 400 million Australian dollars
(US$302 million) in business losses.
Dr. Finkel's review is expected to recommend the country adopt a
Low Emissions Target, or LET, to accelerate investment in cleaner
energy, while also supporting construction of power stations that
burn fossil fuels but have technology that minimize emissions. The
target, backed by mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd., would set a
minimum level for energy generation from low-emissions sources.
"After a decade of toxic politics surrounding energy and climate
change policy, Australians are looking for both major parties to
co-operate on a way forward," Mr. Shorten said.
One of Australia's largest manufacturers, BlueScope Steel Ltd.,
said an LET was a better option than reviving an
emissions-intensity scheme that would penalize ageing coal-fired
generators, which continue to underpin much of the country's
current energy grid.
"We need multiparty support for a clean energy target that is
technology agnostic, that deals with the issues of affordability,
security and reliability," BlueScope Chief Executive Paul O'Malley
said.
-Write to Rob Taylor at rob.taylor@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 08, 2017 02:03 ET (06:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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