Carbon permits
In July 2008, the Australian government published a green paper outlining its climate strategy to cut emissions by 60% by 2050, compared to 2000 levels. In 2010 the government will launch a cap-and-trade scheme for companies that emit more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year (known as the carbon pollution reduction scheme). Nearly all permits to pollute will be auctioned, with the proceeds going to clean energy projects. The green paper also highlights adaptation to unavoidable climate change, such as a A$200 million (€99m) rescue project for the Great Barrier Reef and plans to secure water supply.
A prolonged drought has helped to put climate change on the agenda. According to a review commissioned by the Australian government (the Garnaut review) if no efforts are made to reduce emissions, the country could see a 92% fall in agricultural production in the Murray Darling basin area in south-eastern Australia (the most important food production area in the country), a 35% increase in the cost of water, a rise in heat-related deaths in the tropical northern part of the country and “catastrophic destruction” of the iconic Great Barrier Reef.
