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About the report
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For over 50 years CEDA has played an important role in driving robust debate on important economic issues of the day. Over that time, few issues with such significant long term implications have been as divisive as climate change.
Climate change, and our response to it, has been a topic of considerable interest to our members and while we have heard intelligent and in-depth debate at CEDA events, this has largely failed to be matched in the public arena.
The following policy perspective does not seek to provide the answer but to highlight key flaws and issues that have failed to be properly debated and provide options to address these issues before a final model is adopted.
These policies were originally put on the table for discussion just prior to Copenhagen in 2009 and it is interesting to note that many of the key issues raised in 2009 have still failed to be addressed.
These chapters address issues such as a consumption versus production based climate policy, the flaws of transitioning to an ETS, and how Australia can implement policies that do not undermine the nation's international competitiveness.
CEDA supports climate change policy action but it needs to be well thought out policy actions that achieve tangible benefits. Unfortunately, the current debate seems locked in headline grabbing extremes, while critical questions remain unanswered.
What is in the best interests of all Australians is a balanced and sensible debate on climate change. This will ultimately provide the best opportunity to deliver a course of action that balances the future economic prosperity of Australia with taking timely action to reduce our environmental footprint.