The Australian government will work with exporters to limit potential losses under its carbon emissions trading plan, Treasurer Wayne Swan said yesterday.
Australia will introduce trading from the middle of 2010 to help tackle climate change and meet an emissions limit to be set later this year. The plan will affect 1,000 businesses that produce an annual equivalent of more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, with the government to compensate power producers and households while issuing free permits to industry.
Business groups are concerned higher energy costs may cut earnings at the resource companies driving Australia’s growth. Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, said last week it could shelve two liquefied natural gas projects, each worth A$30 billion (US$29 billion), because the government’s plan penalizes gas exports.
“While the government wants to make a solid statement about carbon emissions, they don’t want the economy to suffer,” said Gavin Wendt, head of resources research at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney.
“Industry know they have to be seen to be doing something and there has to be flexibility as the policy is implemented, especially for the resources sector,” he said.
There will be a limited number of permits available to “emission intensive” industries, Swan told the Ten Network’s Meet the Press yesterday.
“We’ll take our time to talk to industry,” Swan said. “We will put forward a responsible position which is economically responsible and affordable and which protects those export- orientated industries that are emissions intensive.”
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd released a discussion paper last week on the plan to reduce carbon emissions.
He needs support from the opposition or from minor parties to pass laws through the Australian Senate next year as his Labor government doesn’t hold an outright majority in the nation’s upper house.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a