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.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
The partisan standoff over President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget has raised questions about the nation’s ability to adequately fund its own defense, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released on Tuesday. The report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, said the government has increased its defense budget at an average annual rate of 5 percent from 2019 to 2023, with about 2.5 percent of its GDP spent on defense in 2024. Lai in November last year proposed a special budget of about US$40 billion over eight years, and said he intends to increase defense spending to
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