Page 18 - Climate Control News Magazine April 2019

In Focus
INDUSTRY RESPOND TO CLIMATE DEAL
AREMA president, Mark Padwick
THE steps taken by Australia’s refrigeration and air conditioning industry to reduce emissions has been formally recognised in the federal government’s Climate Solutions Package.
Commenting on the $3.5 billion package, industry groups said the package recognised the important role of the HFC phasedown in meeting Australia’s climate change commitments.
Refrigerant Australia executive director, Greg Picker, said the RAC industry really has made a difference.
“From the days of CFCs through to the end of the HFC phasedown in 2036, Australian industry will have reduced it emissions of refrigerants – in climate change terms – by over 98%. That is a massive reduction,” he said.
President of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturers
of Australia (AREMA), Mark Padwick, said members were pleased to see that action to improve energy efficiency was a cornerstone of the government’s policy.
“We have been working closely and well with government to deliver improved technologies with lower electricity demand to the community and we firmly believe that more can be accomplished,” he said.
Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, said Australia’s current emissions reduction target is woefully inadequate.
“Pumping funding into a bad policy is like trying to inflate slashed tyres on a bike – a waste of time, effort and money,” McKenzie said. ✺
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PM launches pre-election
climate solutions package
THE DIRECT ACTION Fund has been re-badg- ed as the Climate Solutions Fund and given a $2 billion funding boost by the federal government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison last month an- nounced a $3.5 billion Climate Solutions Pack- age to address climate change.
“There will be further announcements ahead but as part of the $3.5 billion Climate Solutions Package, we will invest a further $2 billion in the Climate Solutions Fund,” he said.
“The Climate Solutions Fund will build on the success of the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) which has contracted 193 million tonnes in emission reductions.
“THE GOVERNMENT IS STILL MAKING TAXPAYERS FOOT THE BILL FOR BIG POLLUTERS.”
– MARK BUTLER.
“Australia will meet its international climate targets without wrecking the economy and driv- ing power prices sky high.”
The Minister for the Environment, Melissa Price, said that Climate Solutions Fund will en- sure the ERF delivers a further 103 million tonnes in emission reductions to 2030.
“This will make a key contribution to us meet-
FROM LEFT: Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie. Environment Minister, Melissa Price. Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. Labor’s Environment spokesperson, Mark Butler.
ing our 26% emissions reduction target under the Paris agreement,” she said.
Price said Australia beat its first greenhouse gas reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol (2008- 2012) by 128 million tonnes of greenhouse gases and is on track to overachieve its second Kyoto Protocol target (2013-2020) by 240 million tonnes.
She said Australia’s 2030 target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels is responsible and achievable.
“This target will see a reduction in the emis- sions intensity of Australia’s economy by two thirds, and emissions per person halve by 2030. This is one of the strongest efforts among G20 countries,” Price said.
The $2 billion in funds will be rolled out over 10 years and includes energy efficiency initia- tives for the refrigeration sector and an electric vehicle strategy.
Opposition climate change spokesman Mark Butler dismissed the funding injection as a con- tinuation of a failed policy, vowing to scrap the scheme if Labor wins the election.
He said the Government’s latest pledges are still making taxpayers foot the bill for big polluters.
“These sorts of activities should be paid for by the private sector,” Butler told ABC radio.
“If you’re serious about climate change then what you would do as a Prime Minister is dump their plans to spend even more bil- lions of taxpayer dollars on funding coal fired power stations.”
Labor is promising a 45 per cent emissions tar- get by 2030, based on 2005 levels.
This is in addition to $10 billion for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in renewa- ble energy and energy efficiency across Australia.
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