With increasing awareness of the dangers of climate change, the world is hunting for other forms of power generation that produce lower emissions of greenhouse gas. While gas is not a zero emissions energy source, it has come to be seen by some as a ‘bridging fuel’. In Australia an increasingly important source of gas

This Spotlight Report provides an objective benchmark of attitudes to the issue of climate change in 2012 in Australia and a rigorous analysis, qualitative and quantitative, of the pros and cons of climate change and its solutions.

The Gillard Government recently passed legislation which will, for the first time in Australia, see big polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions through a price on carbon. While the introduction of a carbon price will not in itself drive a substantial reduction in Australia’s emissions, it does begin to build the necessary policy infrastructure

In the 2007 federal election both major parties committed to introducing an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). By 2009 both parties agreed on an emissions reduction target of five per cent on 2000 levels by 2020. But since Tony Abbott became leader of the Liberal Party the bipartisan position for a reliance on a market based

The Coalition has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by five per cent on 2000 levels by 2020. It proposes to achieve this target with a “Direct Action Plan”: a competitive grant scheme that would buy greenhouse gas reductions from businesses and farmers. Over the past decade various Australian governments have announced more than seven

The introduction of a carbon price in Australia in July 2012 will raise more than $10 billion per year, help influence industrial and household decision making and, inevitably, increase the costs and reduce the profits of some businesses. Such increases in cost and the subsequent change in behaviour are, of course, the objective of introducing

Contrary to popular belief, the policies that are most effective in driving down greenhouse gas emissions actually raise revenue rather than cost the budget money. The Gillard Government has recently scrapped, or wound back, a range of policies designed to help reduce greenhouse gasses in order to ensure the budget returns quickly to surplus. These

While the 2007 election was fought on a promise by the ALP to introduce a carbon price the 2010 election was fought by both the ALP and the Coalition on a promise not to do so. For the ALP the promised inaction was until at least 2013 and for the Coalition the promise was open

A price on carbon is widely regarded as an essential element of an efficient response to climate change, yet such an approach has been described as a ‘great big tax on everything’ by opponents. While there is no doubt that putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions will lead to an increase in the price

The Climate Institute has commissioned both quantitative and qualitative market research on the attitudes of the Australian public on climate change and climate change solutions, for the past three years. This research aims to understand and track Australians’ attitudes to climate change and policy over the past year, as well as identify and track issues,

If a binding agreement can be reached on a post-2012 international climate regime, it is likely to include a market-based instrument for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and enhancing forest sinks in developing countries (collectively known as ‘REDD-plus’). Under such a scheme, countries that reduce net REDD emissions below a pre-set baseline

As part of its ongoing research into the design of Australia’s climate-change policies, The Australia Institute recently conducted polling to better understand the relevant experiences and attitudes of Australians. Some of the questions asked related to the Australian Government’s roof insulation scheme and these results are presented below to help inform the Senate inquiry into

As a result of climate change, the distribution of dengue and other vector-borne diseases will be affected not only in Australia but also globally so that shortages in the supply of fresh blood products could become more widespread in the future. This situation highlights the need for Australia to adopt effective national emissions targets and

Agricultural emissions are a significant source of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions yet they will be excluded from the initial stage of the Rudd Government’s proposed CPRS, with a view to incorporating them from 2015. This paper examines Treasury’s modelling of the likely impact of the CPRS on the agricultural sector and finds it could be

Coal-fired power stations comprise the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, accounting for 36 per cent of total emissions in 2008. Any determined effort to tackle what Prime Minister Rudd has referred to as the ‘moral challenge’ of climate change would presumably seek to reduce emissions from that source significantly. The proposed Carbon

This paper examines Australia’s attitudes to climate change in the region under the two most recent federal governments. The Howard Government’s engagement with the region profoundly influenced understandings of Australia’s role in a climate-changed Pacific. During its time in office, the realities of climate change were largely denied, the Pacific was portrayed as volatile and

While the Commonwealth will receive a windfall of more than $10 billion per year in revenue from auctioning pollution permits, state and local governments will transfer more than $2 billion a year to the Commonwealth Government. In addition, the states will be liable for tens of billions of dollars-worth of expenditure associated with adapting to

The international debate on climate change is heavily influenced by notions of fairness and justice. One of the most important principles referred to internationally is that of polluter pays. The most common interpretation of polluter pays is that national targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions should be based on the level of emissions

Emissions trading will impose a ‘floor’ below which emissions cannot fall as well as a ‘cap’ above which emissions cannot rise. When the government has decided on an acceptable level of pollution, it will issue a corresponding number of pollution permits. If households use less energy and create less pollution, they will simply free up

This report argues that the Rudd Government should not include agriculture in the upcoming Emissions Trading Scheme because of the inherent difficulties in accurately measuring emissions from the agriculture sector. Instead, it outlines a number of alternative options for achieving agriculture emissions abatement.

The emission trading scheme will provide compensation for the price rise for final users. However such policies do not apply to state governments, local governments, the community sector, and the federal government. In total the ETS would cost these public sectors $3.5b annually. 

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) places a $20 per tonne of CO2 price on carbon pollution. While the government advocates schemes to help businesses pay this increase, no such scheme has been passed onto the states and territories. The states and territories would pay a projected $1.5b, or 15,000 teaching, policing and nursing jobs.

In the aftermath of what has been described as the world’s first “climate change” election, public interest remains strong on climate issues. The public appear to be cautiously sceptical about the major parties and their commitment to climate change. There remains a strong desire for further initiatives backed by meaningful targets. 

This report investigates how coastal shipping compares to the other major freight transport modes in terms of energy and emission intensity. It further considers the extent to which increasing shipping’s share of the domestic freight task could reduce Australia’s emissions.

Note: The report contains updated information on the services offered by Carbon Planet.

This piece focuses on if the electorate believes that prominent politicians should go to heaven. Out of the six politicians John Howard scored the lowest with less than half of the population believing he should go to heaven, while Peter Garrett scored the highest at 74%. When split into political parties Howard was the most