In a somewhat damming report a new assessment shows that, despite being in a world increasing turning away from fossil fuels, Australia is now one of the least prepared to exist in a low carbon economy.
The new report, prepared by the left-leaning Climate Institute and US industrial giant General Electric, says Australia is the only G20 country to score lower on its low-carbon competitiveness index for 2012 compared with 1995.
“Australia is the worst performing advanced economy among the G20,” the institute says in its the global climate leadership review, released today.
“It is the only country which has become less prepared for the low-carbon economy since 1995.”
France, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Germany top the index, which measures a country’s ability to prosper in the emerging global low-carbon economy.
Australia is ranked 16th of the 19 G20 nations behind Argentina, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The low-carbon competitiveness index is based on three factors: how a country’s economy is currently structured towards less emissions-intensive activities, steps already taken to move towards a low-carbon future and investments in education and infrastructure.
Australia, a major coal exporter, certainly struggles with the first.
“Australia has the lowest level of overall clean energy production, the second highest number of cars per capita and relatively high deforestation and emissions per capita from the transport sector,” the review says.
By contrast France currently has the highest level of clean energy production, the least emissions-intensive exports and relatively low levels of car ownership.
But it’s not all bad news, as the 2012 review didn’t examine Australia’s plans for a carbon price regime and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) because they hadn’t yet started.
“The clean energy future package will begin to change our direction,” the Climate Institute review states.
“For the first time Australia will have an absolute and ongoing limit placed on the carbon pollution we release into the air.”
The review states that the minority federal Labor government’s pollution price, the carbon farming initiative, the renewable energy target and a raft of other clean-energy initiatives “can drive investment, innovation and minimise the threats and maximise the benefits to our citizens in a world limiting pollution”.
In 2011 there was record spending on clean energy with global investment topping US$260 billion.
Investment in clean energy generation rose to 42 per cent of total energy investment in 2010.
The Labor government’s carbon price laws start on July 1 with a fixed $23-a-tonne pollution price.
This will transition to an ETS in mid-2015 with a floating price set by the market.
