Big polluters
Households to foot the big polluters’ carbon bill
Australian taxpayers will be giving away $3.5 billion in 2010 to some of the country’s worst polluting companies under the Federal Government’s carbon pollution reduction scheme.
The study, by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors [PDF], lists the top 30 recipients of corporate compensation under the emissions trading scheme and how much each of the companies will get from the public purse in 2010 and 2015.
“These figures [PDF] mean that every Australian household will be paying an average of $389 a year in 2010 and $558 by 2015 to fund the activities of the companies that are fuelling climate change,” said ACF executive director Don Henry.
“Not only will Australia’s weak targets lead to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef if adopted globally, every household is being expected to pay more than $500 a year to our biggest polluters to hasten the reef’s destruction.
“Although the Government received thousands of submissions on its emissions trading scheme – most of them urging a strong 2020 target and no free permits to pollute – it seems only a handful of submissions had any impact on the design of the scheme.
“This analysis suggests the big polluters got what they wanted from the white paper.
“The corporate compensation expected to go to just one company, Rio Tinto, over two years is more than the Federal Government’s entire renewable energy fund.”
Among the biggest white paper winners are Rio Tinto ($620 million a year), Alcoa ($228 million) and Woodside ($109 million). Australia’s dirtiest power stations are also in line to get big payouts, with $990 million (over five years) for Hazelwood in Victoria, $152 million for Gladstone in Queensland and $131 million for Bayswater in NSW.
“Australia’s carbon pollution reduction scheme should not be a pay-the-polluter scheme.
“We need to lift the 2020 target into the 25–40 per cent range and drop the handouts to big polluters if we are to do our bit in avoiding dangerous climate change,” Mr Henry said.
Click to read the analysis [PDF]:
