Australia and New Zealand Agonise Over Carbon Reduction Targets

Posted on 10. Aug, 2009 by Ross in Government Policy, Oceania

In the spectrum of the ambition of industrialised nations to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Australia and New Zealand have traditionally occupied the same end of the scale as the USA: could do better and don’t really care.

As the Copenhagen conference begins to loom ever closer, intensifying international debate on the carbon reduction targets being set by individual countries as part of the replacement of the Kyoto Agreement, the Antipodean countries are locked in political wrangling over just how far to commit themselves.

The Australian government is struggling to pass the laws necessary to enact it’s envisioned emissions trading scheme (ETS), with the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 10% by 2020 compared to 2000 levels (significantly higher than the usual 1990 baseline levels). It is currently trying to secure enough votes in the Senate to see the bill through, but despite a strong opinion poll lead the government seems unable to sway enough of the vote.

However, the pressure from the electorate is starting to show on the unpopular opposition, who are desperately trying to avoid facing an early election. As a result, party leader Malcolm Turnbull has announced an alternative, watered-down version of the current government proposal in order to appear to be bringing something else to the negotiating table. The plan has yet to even be agreed by his own party, and the constant dithering by the opposition might yet sway the crucial Senate vote.

Australia is responsible for 1% of the world’s carbon emissions: it’s high carbon-per-capita figure due to 80% of it’s energy being generated by dirty coal-fired power stations.

New Zealand is facing similar dilemmas. It’s government wishes to set a bold target of 10-20% carbon emissions reduction by 2020, but it is already massively behind it’s original Kyoto commitments. Despite pledging to keep carbon emissions constant from 1990 to 2012, New Zealand has seen a 24% rise in emissions over that period.

Strong targets are most worrying to New Zealand’s agricultural industry, which is responsible for half the country’s carbon emissions and the majority of it’s methane - a gas 20 times more potent at trapping atmospheric heat than carbon dioxide. Farming is proving to be exceedingly difficult to realise reductions in emissions from on a global basis, which would leave New Zealand with a massive hill of carbon targets to climb.

However, unlike it’s larger neighbour, New Zealand has already put an ETS in place. The outcome of the Australian wrangling is critical, however, since New Zealand has stated that it would harmonise its ETS scheme with whatever was proposed by Australia.

Image of an ice cave in New Zealand by anoldent @ Flickr