After months of political maneuvering, the Australian government will vote on its Emissions Trading System (ETS) amendment bill before Parliament adjourns on the 26th of this month. If it is rejected by the Senate again, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd may call an early election on the grounds of climate change.
Kevin Rudd cited the nearly 100 bushfires currently burning in Australia and the high temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius as examples to emphasize the urgency of such legislation to combat global warming.
The Australian general election is scheduled for the end of 2010. Although the Rudd-led Labor government is currently leading the opposition Liberal Party by a wide margin in the polls, calling a snap election is still a gamble with the prime minister's position.
The Australian government hopes that this carbon emissions trading system can be implemented in July 2011. Once officially implemented, it will be Australia's second domestic carbon emissions trading platform outside of Europe, with carbon emissions pricing expected to be set at 10 Australian dollars per metric tonne.
The debate over Australia's emissions trading system is being closely watched by other countries, particularly the United States, where lawmakers are debating their proposals. Australia's neighbor, New Zealand, is also attempting to pass a revised emissions trading bill.
This carbon trading system was a key campaign promise of Kevin Rudd in 2007, and he hoped to pass the ETS bill before the Copenhagen Global Climate Conference (United Nations Climate Change Summit) in December.
Opposition Liberal MPs oppose the bill, arguing that it will sacrifice jobs and harm businesses, and some MPs do not believe that human activity is the main cause of climate change.
Australia is the world's largest coal exporter, accounting for approximately 1.5% of global carbon emissions, and its per capita greenhouse gas emissions are also among the highest in the world. Australia currently sets a greenhouse gas reduction target of 5-25%, and if member states reach a consensus at the UN Climate Change Summit in December, it will set even stricter reduction targets.
– Reference source: United Daily News & Reuters, November 24, 2009
