topic 4 enviro

Question 1

albanese gov new goals

Answer 1

• 43$ below 2005 levels by 2030 emission target

Question 2

market policies

Answer 2

• safeguard mechanism
• carbon tax
• emissions reduction fund and climate solution fund 2020

Question 3

target

Answer 3

• renewable energy target
• emissions reduction target

Question 4

regulations

Answer 4

• snowy hydro 2.0
• climate change bill

Question 5

international agreements

Answer 5

• paris agreement
• glasgow climate pact

Question 6

safeguard mechanism

Answer 6

• identifies 10 largest emitting industries (more than 100K of CO2 per yr)
• decline rate 4.9% each yr to 2030
• reduce 205 million tonnes or 43% from 2005 of GHGE by 2030

Question 7

safeguard mechanism advantages

Answer 7

• Mines, refineries and smelters produce around 28% of Aus GHGE = incentive to decrease emissions

Question 8

safeguard mechanism disadvantages

Answer 8

• Estimated to lead to 7% unemployment in nsw
• Govt can approve new coal or gas mining projects until 43% emissions target by 2030

Question 9

carbon tax

Answer 9

• global warming challenges due to 70% of AUS export revenue coming from mining.
• 2012-13 federal budget the Gillard government introduced a $23/tonne emission permit (‘carbon tax’) for businesses emitting over 25,000 tonnes of CO2 annually
• expected to raise $24.7 billion over three years
• reduce CO2 emissions by at least 5% of 2000 levels by 2020

Question 10

carbon tax advantages

Answer 10

• CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels fell 2.4% in 213 and 1.1% in 2014 (steepest decline since 1990)
• emissions from affected businesses falling 7%

Question 11

carbon disadvantages

Answer 11

• Firms can lose IC due to higher costs (e.g. $23/tonne carbon emissions was higher than EU emissions at $3.34/tonne)
• Adds to Cost-push inflation whereby contributing to CPI increasing by 0.7% from 2012-14
• repealed by Abbott 2 yrs later

Question 12

Emissions Reductions Fund and Climate Solution Fund (2020)

Answer 12

• key feature of the Direct Action Plan (repealed Carbon Tax)
• Cost $2.55 billion to establish
• Replaced by Scomo’s $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund

Question 13

Emissions Reductions Fund and Climate Solution Fund (2020) advantages

Answer 13

• By 2019, 477 projects had received funding (195M tonnes of carbon abatement)
• ↓ emissions by 200m tonnes in 2019.

Question 14

Emissions Reductions Fund and Climate Solution Fund (2020) disadvantages

Answer 14

• Taxpayers fund the cost –> don’t internalise cost
• Non-efficient projects fail to deliver the reduced emissions

Question 15

Renewable energy target (RET)

Answer 15

• In 2008, the Rudd Government introduced a Renewable Energy Target (RET), which would ensure that 20% of Australia’s electricity supply would be generated from renewable sources by 2020.
• RET was renewed in 2015 to be a goal of 23.5% of Aust electricity to be from renewable → turned out to be 21%
• $1.5 billion Solar Flagships programme to develop scalable solar, thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies.

Question 16

Renewable energy target (RET) advantages

Answer 16

• 2018-2020 $26.5B investment in renewable energy, creates certainty in sector (26K employed)
• $26.5 billion invested between 2018 and 2020, allowing Australia to officially meet its RET of 23.5% in January 2020, with 27% of energy coming from renewable sources.
• In 2021 revision: an additional estimated 35m tonnes of CO2 per year from 2020 could be released

Question 17

RET disadvantages

Answer 17

• no continuation

Question 18

snowy hydro 2.0

Answer 18

aims to be the world’s second largest pumped hydro renewable power station

Question 19

snowy hydro 2.0 disadvantages

Answer 19

• threaten over 14 native species, further degrading Australia’s already ‘poor and worsening’ biodiversity.
• 40% of renewable energy generated by the dam will be lost before it even reaches consumers,
• Turnbull government’s failure to introduce the National Energy Guarantee in 2018 = only reducing emissions by 2% over a decade and saved $25 per yr = wasn’t implemented

Question 20

paris agreement

Answer 20

• Kyoto protocol = which Australia ratified in 2007 under the Rudd government to reduce carbon emissions. = failure as China or US didn’t join
• Paris Agreement replaced it in 2015 = limiting global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with 1.5 degrees Celsius being optimal.
• Australia has implemented a short-term target to reduce emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, increased from the original 26-28% by the Albanese government.

Question 21

paris agreement advantags

Answer 21

• 25M jobs created in renewable energy by 2050,
• By 2030, reduction in global CO2 emissions from 50B to 35B tonnes
• CO2 emission fell by 5.8% in 2020, but pack to normal by mid 2021, Doubling Aust renewable energy capacity in 2020
• 21 OECD countries have leveraged the Paris Agreement effectively, committing to net zero emissions by 2050 whilst also providing $100 billion/year to support developing countries to reduce emissions.

Question 22

paris agreement disadvantages

Answer 22

• before albanese’s review, Australia’s emissions were increasing by 1% per year, meaning it was likely to fail to meet its target.
• second most reliant OECD country with 54% of electricity, no coal phase out plan, No repercussions
• Australia’s last place ranking in environmental sustainability on the UN’s Sustainable Development 2021 Report

Question 23

glasgow climate pact (COP26/27)

Answer 23

• reduce the gap btw existing emission reduction plans and what is required (limit to 1.5 degrees)
• Developed nations to commit $100B annually, provide costs for the Loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries

Question 24

glasgow climate pact (COP26/27) advantages

Answer 24

• Allowed for Labour government for a ‘breath of fresh air’ as they reconsider new targets and policies

Question 25

glasgow climate pact (COP26/27) disadvantages

Answer 25

• Emerging economies are among the biggest and ongoing contributors to the problem and have not paid and are not willing too