Heaven help us before Hell becomes the inevitable destination

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Heaven help us before Hell becomes the inevitable destination

By Kaye Lee on March 10, 2014 • 

In May 2007, the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading presented
John Howard with a report that had “been informed by the views of a
wide range of stakeholders”.  They considered 216 submissions from
interested parties and held discussions with 180 groups and individuals
both in Australia and overseas.  Dr Peter Shergold, Chair of the Task
Force, said the broad-ranging expertise of government, industry, and
environmental organisations had been of significant benefit to their
deliberations.


In an introductory letter to Howard, Dr Shergold said:

“We hope that this report can contribute to the
development of policy which will further strengthen Australia’s
considerable record of achievement in addressing climate change at the
domestic and international levels.  Our conclusions have been framed to
position Australia to take a lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
while maintaining economic growth and safeguarding our competitive
advantage.”

The report was extensive and came to the following conclusion:


“The members of the Task Group have come to a shared conclusion: the
adoption of a longer-term emissions constraint and the introduction of
an Australian emissions trading scheme offers the least-cost way of
reducing the output of greenhouse gases domestically and would make a
substantive contribution to a comprehensive solution internationally.