Isra-Mart srl : 'Not if, but when' - carbon consensus begins to take shape

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

A GROWING number of business leaders see a carbon price as inevitable and are trying to get the government's ear to avoid a mining tax-style stoush over climate policy, the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, says.

After this week's flurry of calls for climate action, led by BHP Billiton, Mr Ferguson said it was clear businesses wanted to engage the government quickly.

Although many executives remain opposed to a carbon price, he said those looking to the future knew it was not a case of if, but when.

''The forward-looking corporate leaders across a range of sectors in Australia know there's going to be a price on carbon at some point,'' Mr Ferguson said. ''The only people in denial are Tony Abbott and the opposition.''

Mr Ferguson - a key peace broker with the resources industry after the mining tax furore - also said companies were making it clear they wanted to avoid another row with Canberra.

His comments came amid growing pressure on corporate leaders to support a price on carbon, which key emitters say is essential for investment certainty.

The chief executive of the Investor Group on Climate Change, Nathan Fabian, said more bosses were likely to enter the climate debate after the intervention of the BHP chief executive, Marius Kloppers.

Not only had it made climate a ''mainstream'' issue, it also meant analysts and fund managers would think more carefully about the long-term impacts of climate policy. For instance, a carbon price will change the earnings outlook for high-emitting sectors and is likely to influence acquisition strategies.

''After building up to it for years and years, we've now got the strategic implications of climate change front and centre,'' Mr Fabian said.

Despite BHP's call for change, however, other sectors remain vehemently opposed to a carbon price before other countries introduce similar measures.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents small and medium business, said yesterday a survey of 1000 companies found more than 75 per cent were against a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme. The survey found rising energy costs were the greatest fear - a concern shared by the federal opposition.

The chamber's director of economics, Greg Evans, said calls for a carbon price did not represent the ''general views of business owners''.

''Taxing our economy with a carbon tax or unilaterally imposing an emissions trading scheme has low business support in the current environment,'' he said. ''The reality is business and consumers face the prospect of a doubling of energy prices by 2015 with little global gain."

The opposition spokesman on climate action, Greg Hunt, echoed concerns of the chamber and other groups including the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group.

The Coalition is proposing to pay the biggest emitters to switch to cleaner fuels. "We would rather immediately begin to clean up the oldest and dirtiest power stations … through direct incentives, rather than hope that increasing electricity prices at some stage in the future will clean up the power stations in the next 15 years," Mr Hunt said.