ECO nodded off during the plenary and heard this:
Dear Ministerial colleagues:
It gives me great pleasure to be here with you at this High Level Roundtable on Market Approaches for Enhanced Climate Action. I want to report to you now that after 18 months Australia’s carbon market is working well.
After the first 12 months the carbon price, supported by other policies, delivered 7% emissions reductions from covered sectors. The proportion of renewables in the energy mix surged by 23%. Inflation impacts were almost exactly as predicted at 0.7%. Auctioning revenues funded support for low and middle-income households, leaving them better off than before the reform. Scare campaigns saying that entire cities and industries would be wiped out proved to be mere fear-mongering.
Australia’s carbon price and limit on carbon pollution was of course designed to give a long-term signal to drive investment decisions towards low-carbon technologies and projects. The next step includes an assessment of increasing our ambition based on science and comparative action. To that end, our statutorily independent Climate Change Authority has released a draft recommendation for Australia’s emissions reduction target, informed by work programs under the Convention.
The Authority is chaired by a former head of Australia’s central Reserve Bank, and its board includes Australia’s chief scientist and the former head of the Australian Industry Group. It has recommended that Australia take a 15 to 25% emission reduction target by 2020 with up to 50% reduction by 2030. It identified these targets in relation to an overall carbon budget and with a clear statement of our national interest in avoiding 2o warming.
Australia looks forward to working with you in increasing our collective targets and ambitions well in advance of COP 21. Finally, with the time-bound support for phasing out coal power generators and the need for free permits for trade exposed sectors now almost completely irrelevant, Australia would like to announce that 10% of the carbon price revenue will be directed to climate finance.
Thank you, Chair.
Well, it was a pleasant few moments anyway, But then it was back to plenary reality . . .