Via the AFR:
Big business, energy companies industry groups have called on the Turnbull government to allow future governments to be able to adjust the emissions reduction target more often than every five years to ensure Australia meets its international climate targets.
With the Energy Security Board finalising the design of the National Energy Guarantee ahead of next month’s Council of Australian Governments energy council meeting, there is growing pressure to allow more flexibility in the ability to change the emissions reduction target that will underpin the NEG.
Australia has committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 26 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 – a figure that will also be applied to the electricity sector under the NEG.
The federal government has proposed a 10-year fixed trajectory for the emissions target between 2020 and 2030 – and then five-year extensions every five years from 2025 – to give industry certainty, but submissions to the federal Department of Environment and Energy say more flexibility is required.
Does nobody have a brain left? The only certainty that the NEG offers is not changing the target more frequently. That’s it’s only reason for being and, yes, it guarantees missing Paris reduction targets.
If you give the NEG a one year change flexibility clause then the political climate wars are alive and well. That’s not an argument in favour of the five year limit, it’s the argument that exposes the NEG for the complete waste of time and energy (pardon the pun) that it is. The NEG is a snake eating it’s tail and always has been. Classic Do-nothing Malcolm balderdash.
Trash it and let state mitigation targets do the work.
