Electricity prices could rise by up to 75 percent from 2020 if
In a report on the impact of emissions trading, the institute said electricity prices could rise 20 percent in the next 20 years if the government acted decisively, but a soft response and a low carbon price would mean a greater shock from 2020.
“A wait-and-see scenario with a soft start to carbon pricing does not significantly reduce emissions in the short-term, leads to higher carbon prices and electricity prices over the medium to long-term, and does not promote the deployment of clean energy over the next decade,“ the independent institute said.
Carbon trading sets caps on pollution for companies and puts a price on carbon emissions, providing a financial incentive for companies to clean up pollution so they can sell leftover allocations to others.
Climate Institute chief executive John Connor said
With no domestic nuclear power,
Connor said electricity accounted for 30 percent of
A soft option of setting a carbon price at about A$10 a ton ($8.20/ton), he said, would not offer enough incentives for investment in clean energy and would force carbon prices to jump significantly after about 2020.
Connor said
“We think it is economically reckless to delay action, or only to take half-measures,“ he said.
The report came as 75 economics professors at Australian universities signed an open letter calling for the government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
Global warming, they said, carried serious environmental, economic and social risks and urgent action was needed, particularly from developed nations.
“The refusal by
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