The Turnbull government should adopt a Low Emissions Target as a fall back option to help Australia reduce its carbon emissions and meet its Paris climate targets, according to the Climate Change Authority.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The call is contained in a new joint report by the Authority and the Australian Energy Market Regulator, requested by Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg, on how to improve power security in Australia and reduce electricity prices.
Fairfax Media understands the recommendation is likely to be mirrored in chief scientist Alan Finkel's review of the electricity sector, which will be released at the next Council of Australian Governments meeting next Friday.
The report argues that an Emissions Intensity Scheme is still the best way to reduce emissions but the Turnbull government ruled out this policy after a revolt by the Coalition backbench late last year.
In the absence of an emissions intensity scheme, "a LET could support a wide range of generation technologies including gas and carbon capture and storage" the Authority stated.
The energy market regulator said it had not compared a Low Emissions Target with an Emissions Intensity Scheme in terms of its impact on the electricity market, including on prices and system security.
A low emission target operates in a similar way to the Renewable Energy Target and implementing one could help provide a path forward for the Turnbull government.
It would require more electricity be supplied from – depending on its design – renewables, carbon capture and storage and highly efficient gas
A low emissions generation target could be set in a LET, and scaled up in future if needed, or a desired level of emissions intensity per unit of electricity generated could be set.
The report was released on Friday as Mr Turnbull stared down calls from his backbench to postpone the release of the Finkel review after the United States abandoned the Paris climate treaty.
A coalition of groups including the Business Council, ACTU, ACOSS, Conservation Foundation and the Climate Institute issued a joint statement on Friday that said Australia must remain a signatory to the Paris deal, which requires a 26-28 per cent emissions cut, against 2005 level, by 2030.
In Singapore, Mr Turnbull said President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris international climate change pact was not a surprise, but disappointing.
"We would prefer the United States to remain part of the agreement," he said.
Mr Trump's decision to pull out of the landmark accord – which seeks to limit global warming to 2 degrees celsius through emissions cuts from member nations – has been met with a swift global backlash.
Mr Turnbull also rebuffed calls by senior conservative Eric Abetz to put the Finkel Review on ice and ask its author to consider the local ramifications for a Paris accord that does not include the US, including putting beef producers at a competitive disadvantage.
Fairfax Media revealed on Thursday that five Coalition backbenchers – Ian Goodenough, Senator Abetz, Ian MacDonald, Tony Pasin and environment committee chair Craig Kelly – want the government to reassess the Paris agreement.
But Mr Turnbull said the timing of the release of the Finkel Review will not change and that the nation needed an "informed, hard-headed, practical approach" to the future of the electricity system.
Labor Climate spokesman Mark Butler said "any notion that the Turnbull government's opposition to an EIS is based on rational concerns for impacts on electricity affordability, reliability or policy effectiveness is demolished by this latest report".
Greens climate spokesman Adam Bandt said that a low emissions target was a "second best option".
This week Dr Finkel told a Senate hearing that his report would cover Australia's responsibilities to cut total emissions under the Paris agreement but did not say whether it would advocate placing a price on carbon.
Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg told the ABC on Friday that an EIS pushed by business leaders would not solve the major issue of reliability, typified by the South Australian blackout earlier this year.
"Our position on an emissions intensity scheme is clear: we believe that that does punish some of the existing coal-fired power generators in the country," he said.
Environment groups are pushing for a faster transition to a 100 per cent renewable power grid.
The ACF, Wilderness Society and Solar Citizens on Friday released a document that called for an "urgent energy system overhaul that provides a clear pathway to a clean, reliable, affordable, inclusive and equitable renewable energy future for all Australians".
With Fergus Hunter
