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14/07/09Bligh cautions commonwealth on CPRS concerns
The Federal Government's options to assist the coal industry to transition to its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) need to go beyond that currently proposed, Premier Anna Bligh told State Parliament today.
Ms Bligh said her Government broadly supported the Federal Government's emission trading scheme; however she had concerns with some of its design, especially how it might impact on Queensland's coal mining and energy industries and their job-creating capacity.
The concerns include:
- the level of assistance for mines unearthing gases through mining (fugitive emissions)
- the negative initial impact CPRS could have on electricity generation using waste-coal mine gas and
- constraints on some mines to pass through costs to energy generating customers because of restrictive long term contracts.
Ms Bligh detailed to this morning's Estimates Hearing that she had written to Greg Combet, the Federal Minister for Science and Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change.
In that letter she notes that Commonwealth Treasury own modelling confirms that Queensland faces the greatest impacts from emission pricing.
"It projects that we will experience the largest percentage decline in Gross State Product by 2050 - relative to a without CPRS scenarario.
The Premier agreed that coal should be playing its part in reducing emissions, but she has concerns that CPRS will significantly reduce the competitiveness of Queensland's coal production.
"Options to assist the coal industry to transition to the CPRS need to be developed that go beyond that currently proposed.
"Some of our coal mines have extensive methane emissions and have very limited capacity to reduce them at the present time with current technologies.
"The CPRS needs to provide specialized assistance to these mines as a transitional measure."
She also urged Mr Combet and the Commonwealth to continue its engagement with stakeholders, including the Queensland Government, to ensure that the design and implementation of the CPRS best achieves its economic, environmental and employment objectives.
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Last Updated 03 November 2009
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