Australia: “As Australia heads towards the election on 21 August, climate policy remains a crucial issue for Australian industry. Government and industry need to continue the dialogue on climate change and a principles-based approach should form the basis of action,” Ai Group Chief Executive Heather Ridout said.
“Ai Group’s strong climate policy principles have been further developed by a high level Leaders’ Group of companies from across Ai Group’s diverse membership. We have released these expanded principles which have been endorsed by Ai Group’s National Executive. They are further detailed in the document below and include the following:
- The competitiveness of Australia’s trade-exposed industries cannot be eroded;
- Australia should be able to meet its international emissions reduction commitments at least cost;
- Climate policy must respect existing investments to avoid acute short – medium term disruptions while supporting efficient long-term investment in the energy and other sectors;
- A central feature of policy should be supporting research and development of new approaches to emissions reduction and refinement of existing approaches; and
- Compliance costs and regulatory burdens should be kept to a minimum.
“One of the most important tasks for the next government will be to get climate policy right. Business needs to have confidence that their concerns are well understood by all sides of politics as they refine their climate change policies and we would encourage all parties to embrace these principles.
“Ai Group and its members, guided by these strong principles, will seek an active engagement and positive collaboration with the new government to address the risks posed by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We seek to work with all parties for a policy that secures Australia’s posterity while preserving its prosperity,” Mrs Ridout said.
Source: http://www.aigroup.com.au/
