Preface by editor.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and the Climate Institute have publicly supported the Australian Government’s latest version of its Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) that it calls the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). This ETS, denoted CPRS version 2 below, involves auctioning greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution licences to major GHG polluters but returns most of the licence money back to GHG polluters and proposes a “5-25% reduction of 2000 GHG pollution by 2020” (see highly critical analysis by leading Australian environmentalist David Spratt entitled “Suicidal sweethearts” in New Matilda, 5 May 2009: http://newmatilda.com/2009/05/05/sweethearts ).
Letter by Dr John Merory re WWF’s support of the Australian Government CPRS (May 2009).
Dear WWF Supporter,
re WWF's support of the CPRS version 2.
Thank you for your letter explaining why WWF supported this.
My concerns are that
1. There is no assurance that the government will not choose a much lower target than 25%- the lowest being 5%. And although you imply this is from 1990 levels my reading was that the baseline for calculation was 2000 levels according to the government.
2. The government target of 450 ppm will mean a 2 deg temperature rise and disaster for the Australian continent and coastline, particularly the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) , Ningaloo and SE Australia. The Murray-Darling system will not be viable at present rates of use, and there will be virtually no environmental flows. Melbourne and Adelaide will run out of water. The Victorian forests will burn catastrophically every summer, and wildlife will be decimated. Endangered and threatened species will become extinct.
3. There is no impediment to the governments of Australia and private firms buying carbon credits from PNG and Indonesia instead of taking action in Australia. Although preserving their rain forests is very desirable, there is no assurance that translocating our climate pollution reduction responsibilities to them will work, considering their political and social pressures and corruption. At best it will be greenwash to enable our polluters to continue Business As Usual (BAU) . Investing in their forests as carbon stores and sinks should be completely separate to the targets in Australia, and will require strict environmental accounting and auditing.
4. The CPRS proposal will disempower me and all Australian individuals, families, councils and other institutions in our efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas pollution, as any savings we make will only enable the big polluters to continue BAU. Furthermore, the RECs we generate will be taken or bought for a song by the polluters such as the power companies and sold back into the market at great profit.
5. The $10 / tonne CO2 price is a joke! Another example of the government pandering to the coal industry.
6. The gift of $billions of taxpayers' money to the big polluters to help them with the demands of the CPRS is insulting to the rest of Australia.
7. The target of 20% renewables is deceiving- because of the growth in power production there will be no nett reduction in nonrenewable power, and could result in an increase. The government should give absolute targets to replace nonrenewable with renewable power sources.
There appears to be consensus among the scientists with the greatest knowledge of climate science that we need to get to 350 ppm ASAP, that we need to decarbonise our economies with alacrity, and that we face a climate emergency- see James Hansen's articles and Climate Code Red by Sutton and Spratt. Not only that, we need to actively draw carbon out of the atmosphere if we are to save our ecosystem and society.
I request that WWF's policies and actions follow the science rather than the politics - physics, chemistry and biology do not negotiate!
Regards,
John Merory
Footnotes by editor.
Dr John Merory is a Melbourne neurologist and a member of the Yarra Valley Climate Action Group.
For other detailed critiques from YVCAG membership of the Australian Government's latest Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) proposal, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme version 2 (CPRS version 2), see:
Dr Gideon Polya, “Pro-coal Australian Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) devalues Australian lives, threatens Biosphere and ignores Science”, 2009: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/latest-pro-coal-australian-emissions-trading-scheme-ets-devalues-australian-lives-threatens-biosphere-and-ignores-science-and-climate-emergency .
Dr Gideon Polya, "Australia’s “5% off 2000 GHG pollution by 2020” endangers Australia, Humanity and the Biosphere", 2009: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/australia-s-5-off-2000-ghg-pollution-by-2020-endangers-australia-humanity-and-biosphere ;
Submission (# 273) from Dr Gideon Polya to the 2009 Inquiry by the Senate Select Committee on Climate Policy Policy (see: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/climate_ctte/submissions/sublist.htm and http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/climate_ctte/submissions/sub273.pdf ); and
Submission (#5) from Dr Gideon Polya to the 2009 Senate Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into the CPRS: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/economics_ctte/cprs_09/submissions/sub05.pdf .