Under a new thinktank proposal Australia’s fossil fuel industry would be required to pay into a national climate disaster fund levy to help cover the costs of escalating natural disasters.
The new plan put forward by the Australia Institute to make companies producing fossil fuels foot the bill for the escalating costs of natural disasters in Australia has been welcomed by New South Wales mayors who have had to watch ordinary people in their communities pay the price of devastating bushfires.
The Australia Institute today released a proposal for a National Climate Disaster Fund, to be raised by imposing a $1 levy per tonne of carbon pollution on fossil fuel production in Australia.
The think tank estimates the fund would raise around $1.5 billion a year, with natural disasters currently costing the nation approximately $13 billion a year.
Mark Ogge, the principal adviser at The Australia Institute, said with costs only forecast to increase, the nation needed to look at new ways to cover them, while also holding fossil fuel producers responsible.
“The frequency and intensity of natural disasters such as bushfires and floods will keep increasing while we keep pumping more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” he said.
“Australia urgently needs a dedicated, independently administered fund to cope with the ever-increasing costs of these disasters.
“A $1 per tonne levy would have virtually no effect on energy prices or coal jobs, but would be a huge help to everyone being affected by the damage these activities are causing.”
Mr Ogge said polling undertaken by the institute, as part of its Climate of the Nation report, found 62 per cent of Australians supported the introduction of a fossil fuel levy.
The institute said these costs will only continue to rise as the frequency and intensity of fires, floods, droughts and heatwaves increases due to climate change.
AAP Newsagency reports Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, said “The devastating fires, burning across NSW at unprecedented levels, are just the latest reminder that climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of natural disasters.
Glen Innes Severn Council mayor Carol Spar, whose community was hit by a deadly bushfire that killed two people in November, said the recent fires have shown the enormous costs of climate change for local communities.
“Every tonne of coal mined ends up as more greenhouse gas in the in the atmosphere, fuelling climate change and making catastrophes like these fires worse,” she said in a statement.
“It is staggering that the coal and gas companies that profit from this don’t have to pay for any of the costs.
“Our communities are paying the price for their activities, it’s high time they started paying for the damage they are causing.”
Similarly, Bellingen mayor Dominc King, whose shire has also been ravaged by fires this year, said his area had never seen conditions like those it’s now facing and it is impacting the physical and mental health of people as well as affecting local businesses.
“We also understand that this community will continue to have to deal with these horrific conditions all summer and into the future,” he said in a statement.
“Fighting fires on this scale will need a lot more resources, and it’s not fair that burden keeps falling on ordinary people and our volunteer firefighters.”
Dr Karl Mallon, CEO of Climate Risk Engineers, said; “Our analysis suggests that extreme weather costs have increased due to climate change already and will continue to increase.
“This levy is well short of the full investment needed to prepare for climate change disasters, but investment will have to come from somewhere, otherwise through no fault of their own families will be at increasing physical and financial disaster risk.”
The full report is available here.
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