Abbott unveils $1b climate fund plan
Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott says the Coalition's
climate change policy released in Canberra today will be cheaper and more effective than the government's planned emissions trading scheme.
If elected to government, the opposition would spend $3.2 billion of taxpayers' money over four years on incentive payments to industry to reduce emissions.
"Our policy will be simpler, cheaper and more effective than the government's," Mr Abbott said.
"This is because it relies on incentives not penalties."
Mr Abbott said the incentive payments would be given to big polluters if they reduce emissions from existing rates. Industry that rises above the current rate of emissions would be fined an undisclosed amount.
"Business as usual will not be penalised," Mr Abbott said.
The scheme is geared to reaching a 5 per cent emissions reduction cut by 2020 on 2000 levels, the same as currently proposed by the government.
But Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra the opposition was still committed to reaching the Government's tougher targets of 15 and 25 per cent if certain conditions are met in a global agreement, which Mr Abbott believes is unlikely.
The Coalition policy is not costed for a 15 or 25 per cent emissions cut.
The policy includes a $100 million scheme to install 100,000 rooftop solar panels every year and incentives to plant 20 million trees.
Mr Abbott said the incentive payments would be made on the basis that industry action reduced emission, helped the broader environment, had no cost to consumers nor cost jobs.
The Rudd government will today reintroduce its emissions trading scheme into Parliament. The scheme would cap emissions and require industry to buy permits for the greenhouse gases they emit.
The revenue from selling carbon permits would then be used by the government to compensate industry and household for rising costs associated with the scheme.
