Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced yesterday that Australia, one of the worst per capita polluters in the world, will launch a domestic carbon trading scheme in 2012 to fight global warming.
But Howard warned that capping the carbon dioxide belched out by coal-fired power stations could seriously hurt the economy and Australia might have to turn in part to previously shunned nuclear energy.
"Implementing an emissions trading scheme and setting a long-term goal for reducing emissions will be the most momentous economic decision Australia will take in the next decade," he said.
"If we get this wrong it will do enormous damage to the economy, to jobs and to the economic well-being of ordinary Australians, especially low-income households," he said.
Howard, whose government joined the US in refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, said Australia's trading scheme would be better than those already in place in Europe.
"More comprehensive, more rigorously grounded in economics and with better governance than anything in Europe," he told an annual meeting of his Liberal Party national council.
But his refusal to set a target for the reduction in emissions until next year and the delay in implementation until 2012 drew immediate criticism.
"Climate change is not going to wait for the Liberal Party," Australian Greens leader Senator Bob Brown said.
"Keeping global temperature rises to two degrees Celsius or less requires rigorous action now," he said.
Howard attributed the delay in setting a target to a need for rigorous economic modelling, but critics noted that it also meant he would not have to announce the figure before general elections at the end of this year.
The opposition Labor Party, which has pledged a cut of 60 percent in emissions by 2050, has a strong lead in opinion polls.
Climate change has become a major political issue in Australia, where the worst drought in a century is hitting agriculture and the economy and threatening drinking water supplies to cities.
Howard said Australia, which holds 40 percent of the world's uranium reserves, would also have to set aside opposition to atomic energy and consider the introduction of nuclear power stations.
The plan would involve the government setting a cap on emissions and granting businesses permits to cover the amount of greenhouse gases they produce each year. Firms wishing to emit more carbon dioxide than their allocated quota would have to buy permits from companies with a surplus, thereby creating an economic incentive to reduce pollution.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS