Key issues in climate change policy

Australia should make a contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

1. Australia should engage the international community in pursuing identifiable beneficial environmental outcomes through greenhouse gas emissions reduction action.

2. In this global context, Australia should develop a single national approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  This national approach should be developed and implemented transparently to maximise community support.  It must provide stability and send clear signals to encourage sensible and broad-based investment. In addition:

• this approach should deliver emissions reductions at the lowest possible cost to the Australian economy – this is best achieved through a price on emissions imposed on the widest possible coverage of emissions
• in the event Australia takes action before comparable action is taken by the nations with which we compete, the approach should maintain the competitiveness of Australian export industries, particularly cleaner global contributor exports (including the LNG industry), by minimising the costs the industry faces in the absence of a carbon price being imposed on higher-emitting energy sources in customer and competitor countries.
• any approach should be administratively simple and not impose undue costs on participating companies.

3. Any additional measures targeted at reducing greenhouse gas emissions should only apply to sectors of the economy not covered by this single national approach.