Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has ruled out a blanket ban on new fossil fuel projects.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Bowen has ruled out fossil fuel bans,and told this masthead on Wednesday that any new coal or gas project must fit within the total emissions the nation’s big polluters are permitted to generate between now and 2030 under the safeguard mechanism.
The safeguard mechanism’s carbon budget for 2030 sets a cumulative cap of 1233 million tonnes for 215 of the nation’s biggest polluters and any new fossil fuel projects that start. They are required to cut emissions by at least 4.9 per cent a year,or 30 per cent by the end of the decade. This is expected to cut 205 million tonnes of carbon,one-third of the overall reductions needed to achieve Labor’s climate target to reduce greenhouse output by43 per cent by 2030.
“The proposed scheme settings already account for both new facilities coming online and any expected increase in production from existing facilities and still deliver 205 million tonnes of emissions reductions by 2030,” Bowen said.
The annual emissions cuts required by the safeguard mechanism exceed the volume required to hit the 205 million tonne target,which Bowen said could allow for unforeseen contingencies.
“You can’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it”:Greens leader Adam Bandt.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“The scheme has an additional buffer of 17 million tonnes,which makes sure that even if there was higher than expected production and emissions from existing or new facilities,we can still ensure the scheme delivers the emissions reduction it’s designed to,” he said.
Bandt argues that just one big new gas project would void the emissions reductions achieved under the safeguard mechanism,and warned that the government’s target to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 was not ambitious enough to comply with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to two degrees.