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Recent developments wih the CPRS legislation
The last month has been a roller-coaster ride for the Federal Government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).
In early November the Government and the Opposition agreed on a number of amendments to the CPRS in an attempt to get the legislation through the Senate. Although that agreement fell apart when Malcolm Turnbull was replaced by Tony Abbot as the Opposition Leader, and the Senate refused to pass the amended laws, the Government has now adopted those amendments as part of its policy position.
Most of the amendments are about greater compensation to households and big polluters, and permanently excluding agriculture from the Scheme.
However, in a welcome move, changes were made to ensure that voluntary actions by individuals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions will be taken into account when setting scheme caps, and hence will lead to actual reductions in emissions. Equally, all GreenPower purchases will now be considered, not just those beyond a 2009 baseline.
The details about how this would be delivered are still uncertain, and MEFL is concerned that there could be a delay of many years between when voluntary emissions reductions take place and when the emissions cap is reduced.
The Government has vowed to reintroduce the legislation in February and there’s little hope that the laws will be passed as is. Whatever happens, MEFL will continue to work with other environment groups to ensure that voluntary action by communities is recognised as a vital part of Australia’s efforts to tackle climate change.
Read our recent media release on the CPRS.
