[ad_1]
Key events
Filters BETA
$600m decarbonisation fund for big business is in the national interest, Bowen says
Hamish McDonald asks Bowen about the $600m fund that has been set up to help cover the costs of decarbonisation, and how the government justifies subsidising big business. Bowen says it’s in the national interest and a continuation of previous Labor policies to advance the transition to net zero.
McDonald:
Many of these businesses are trading… against businesses overseas. There will be an impact on their capacity to operate because of these obligations, and you’re making grants available to them from a $600m fund to help cover the cost of decarbonising. These are big businesses. They are enormous polluters, why should taxpayers be subsidising these businesses transition programs?
Bowen:
Because this is a national endeavour. Because it is vital for those companies to make this transition but it’s also vital for our country.…We need to be all in and these companies need to be all in and they are in many instances making many hundreds of millions in some cases, billions of dollars of investment, including big traditional fossil fuel industries, and they know they need to do that.
Just as the CSC and Arena [Australian Renewable Energy Agency] have played a vital role in what we have achieved previously – and we’re very proud of them being Labor creations – we would not have achieved anywhere near as much without the investments, co investments as CFC and arena helping businesses make this transition.
Now this is the next quiver – if you like – in the arrow to say well, where we are making a putting an obligation on businesses to decarbonise at quite an ambitious rate. We will make the $600m out of the $1.9bn, powering the regions funds available to help you if you can, satisfy us that it is real investment in real abatement and real reductions in emissions, then this is a national endeavor.
Now we can’t afford not to be all in. We need all businesses doing all levels of government doing it, all society. And so this is a real partnership. And yes, of course, we are requiring businesses to make big investments but where we can provide that extra bit of support to provide that extra certainty and again, as I said, enabled, in some cases management to convince the boards that this is a good instance. I think this is very much in the national interest.
Safeguard mechanism will take 205m tonnes of carbon out of atmosphere, Bowen says
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, yesterday released the government’s plan to revamp the safeguard mechanism, a Coalition policy that was promised to limit emissions from more than 200 industrial facilities but in practice has failed.
Now, the Albanese government says Australia’s big polluting sites from mid year will have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 5% a year until 2030 but will face no limits on the use of carbon offsets.
Bowen is this morning speaking to ABC Radio about some the concerns that have emerged since the changes were announced, including whether there is enough incentive to reduce emissions, rather than simply buying offsets. Bowen says there “absolutely” is.
This is a very ambitious package that we announced yesterday.
5% reductions each year is an ambitious step forward, between now and 2030, it will take 205m tonnes of carbon emission out of our atmosphere.
Now that’s equivalent to two thirds of the emissions from all of Australia’s cars over that period. So this is a big deal.
You can read more about the safeguard mechanism from our environment editor Adam Morton and economics correspondent Peter Hannam:
Fitzroy Crossing airstrip now dry enough to land larger aircraft
A “massive” disaster relief operation hits full swing in the Fitzroy River catchment area, where many people remain isolated by floodwaters and damaged roads.
More than nine tonnes of food and 10 boxes of medical supplies have been flown in to flood-ravaged Fitzroy Crossing as more planes join the airlift.
WA’s fire and emergency services commissioner, Darren Klemm, told reporters:
This is a massive operation underway to get essential supplies into that community and its surrounds.
It was earlier reported that the airstrip was too flooded to get large aircraft in, but the airstrip was now dry enough to land larger aircraft. It will significantly increase capacity to resupply the town of about 1,200.
He said:
I want to reassure the people in the Kimberley region we are bringing a significant amount of food into the region to ensure we have adequate supplies.
Authorities, with assistance from the Australian Defence Force, have also started the damage assessment and cleanup operation in the areas they can access.
– AAP
Long wait before flooded WA bridge reopens
A Western Australian bridge destroyed by once-in-a-century flooding could take more than a year to rebuild, the state’s emergency services minister has said.
The roadway over the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region is the state’s only sealed roadway to the north.
The emergency services minister, Stephen Dawson, said there was significant damage to the bridge at Fitzroy Crossing and the Great Northern Highway.
Engineers and divers are expected to start inspecting the structure in the coming days to determine what can be salvaged and how much work will be required before the transport link can reopen.
Dawson told reporters:
That will give us [an] indication [of] how many months or indeed years [it will take] to build that bridge back up again. Early indications are that that work will take a significant amount of time.
He said any work was likely to start after the wet season ends.
State authorities are also looking at temporary transport alternatives, such as an old flood crossing across the river bed, and talking to the Australian Defence Force about building a temporary bridge.
In the meantime, road trains with freight for Kununurra and the Northern Territory have been diverted from southern WA in South Australia to travel up the Stuart Highway through central Australia.
A barge is also transporting essential goods from Perth Hedland to Broome, with authorities saying an airlift and boats might be the only way to reach some communities until the roadway is repaired.
– AAP
Good morning!
Western Australia is facing the prospect of another natural disaster, with bushfire emergency warnings in place in the south of the state only a week after the once-in-a-century flooding in the Kimberley.
In the early hours of this morning a bushfire emergency warning was issued for parts of Beelerup, Brookhampton and Charley Creek in the Bonnybrook-Balingup shire.
A watch and act warning has also been issued for the Noggerup, also in the Bonnybrook-Balingup, and part of the Wellington National Park in the shire of Dardanup.
In the north of the state, a barge containing food, medicine and other essential supplies is arriving in Broome, after last week’s flooding devastated the region’s road and air infrastructure.
The roadway over the Fitzroy River, the state’s only sealed roadway to the north, was left looking as thought it “had a big bomb dropped on it” was how the emergency services minister Murray Watt described it yesterday. However, that main freight route could take more than a year to rebuild, according to Stephen Dawson, WA’s emergency services minister.
In international news, the 80th Golden Globes are due to be held today with Australians including Cate Blanchett, Margot Robbie, Hugh Jackman, Baz Lurhmann, and Elizabeth Debicki nominated for some of the top prizes.
We’re also expecting to hear from the energy minister, Chris Bowen, on ABC Radio following the government releasing their plan to revamp the safeguard mechanism.
Let’s kick off!
[ad_2]
Source link
