Gillard's climate announcement disappointing

Comments on Paul Kelly “Labor can't be serious about citizens plan”, 24/07/2010, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/labor-cant-be-serious-about-citizens-plan/story-fn59niix-1225896322003
Paul Kelly has made excellent points in assessing Gillard's climate change policy.

It is disappointing that Gillard's climate change announcement does not make much progress to an effective policy.

The idea of having a citizens assembly of 150 people in a year-long process to build a consensus on climate change along with a climate commission of experts to guide debate is rather poor thought.

There is considerable public support for actions on climate change in Australia and we need to take real and effective actions. China, the largest emitter in the world but a developing country has set out an ambitious target to reduce its emission intensity by 40-45% by 2020 from 2005 level.

What we need is an effective moderate carbon tax to start with and states the intention to increase it to the appropriate level to fulfil out obligation.

Abbott's scare campaign is myopic politics, because sooner or later and one way or another a real carbon tax has to be either explicitly imposed or reflected in higher prices through carbon caps. Even government direct measures will involve the inevitable costs, because government expenditure or tax incentives are expenditure from tax paid by taxpayers.

Politically, Gillard could deal with the tax scare campaign by imposing an interim modest carbon levy on emissions and distributing the levy proceeds to every resident to make it purely a change in the relative prices with no income effects on residents.

To offset the impact on Australia's international competitiveness, an equivalent carbon tax on all trade products could be introduced. That should be able to calm concerns by Australian businesses.

The equivalent carbon tax on trade could be accompanied by a compensation for those countries with low per capita emissions to make it internationally more equitable.

A carbon levy/tax done this way would represent a real and effective climate change policy and a closure to the government's failures in its ETS. It will have the support of most Australians.

The policy framework outlined here should assist greatly the policy credibility.

It is a pity that the two main political parties can’t develop an effective and real climate change policy.

PS: see also "Critics hot over climate spin", The Australian, 24/07/2010, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/critics-hot-over-climate-spin/story-fn59niix-1225896320702
"Great procrastinator takes reins of inaction on climate change" by Peter Hartcher, SMH, 24/07/2010, http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/great-procrastinator-takes-reins-of-inaction-on-climate-change-20100723-10oqw.html. This article has more information on Gillard's stance on a potential early election in February and March and the ETS latter on, as well as the latter coup.