Regular readers will know that I’ve got no particular problem with the Tony Abbott’s Direct Action plan for carbon mitigation. So long as cost is not an issue for you it will work. It’s not very sensible to pay more than you have to, but hey, that never stopped a politician.
As I’ve noted previously, Treasury modelling suggested last year that the Direct Action plan would need $8 billion alone in 2020 from the Budget to meet our current abatement commitments (though it would be a bit lower now because the carbon price was working so well).
However, with the sudden appearance of real carbon cuts in the US and a hard cap in China, the bill for Australia if it is required to meet similar targets – which are much deeper than those we currently plan – will rise exponentially. From The Guardian:
