[Greens-Media] NSW greenhouse scheme chaos requires urgent action

[John Kaye]

NSW greenhouse scheme chaos requires urgent action
 
Media Release: 11 September 2007
 
The Greens are calling on the Iemma government to address the collapse
in the carbon price in the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme (GGAS).
 
Greens MP John Kaye said: “NSW is now operating without a meaningful
carbon price. 
 
“As inadequate as GGAS was, at least it supported some worthwhile
reduction in emissions and it sent a signal to consumers that carbon
dioxide has a price.
 
“The bad news about the scheme came on the day that the Owen Inquiry
report is due to be released. It should cause the Iemma government to
think again about privatisation of an industry that is proving to be
very difficult to regulate.
 
“It was inevitable that a poorly designed scheme which rewarded all the
wrong things would be flooded with cheap certificates. 
 
“It was only a matter of time until the price collapsed and the scheme
became completely meaningless.
 
“This is Economics 101 at work. If you allow cheap and nasty
certificates into the market and you don’t created enough demand, the
price will collapse. It is a symptom of a horribly designed scheme that
was never going anywhere.
 
“The lesson that should be learned is that the details of carbon
pricing are important. Cap and trade markets are much more robust than
benchmarking schemes like GGAS but if the NSW government were serious
about long term reductions they would opt for a carbon tax.
 
“Energy Minister Macdonald has to ‘fess up that his GGAS scheme is in
tatters.  NSW is operating without a meaningful carbon price and genuine
greenhouse gas reduction projects will suffer. An interim pricing scheme
is urgently needed to sustain and grow the renewable energy sector.
 
“The Iemma government stands condemned by the market it created. It has
failed to drive real reductions and wasted money on a paper market that
is now in failure.  Meanwhile emissions continue to grow,” Dr Kaye
said.
 

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455 
 
 
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John Kaye
Greens member of the NSW Parliament
phone: (02) 9230 2668
fax: (02) 9230 2586
mobile: 0407 195 455
email: john.kaye at parliament.nsw.gov.au
web: www.johnkaye.org.au
 
mail: Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000