China has a plan to control emissions, Australia has Direct Action

G

reg Hunt has insisted the Coalition’s Direct Action plan is the “best and most efficient” climate policy in the world, as China, the world’s biggest carbon polluter, confirms it will begin a national emissions trading scheme in 2017.

Prof Frank Jotzo says the world will
ultimately emulate what China does.

Business groups and leading analysts say Direct Action cannot meet Australia’s new promise to reduce emissions by between 26% and 28% of 2005 levels by 2030 without significant changes, but Hunt insisted it would easily do so and reduce electricity prices at the same time.

“We have arguably the best and most efficient scheme in the world, there are different forms of market mechanisms but arguably the most pure form is an action, which is what we have,” Hunt said.

But Prof Frank Jotzo from the Australian National University’s Crawford School said confirmation of China’s national emissions trading scheme was “a great boost for emission trading schemes around the world because many countries are looking to China and will ultimately emulate what China does”.

Read the Guardian story - “Coalition’s climate policy 'best and most efficient' in the world, says Greg Hunt”.