Australia divided over carbon trading
new South Wales (nsw) premier Morris Iemma, South Australian premier Mike Rann and Victorian environment minister John Thwaites have recently issued a paper that suggests a possible design for a national emission trading scheme that will cut Australia's greenhouse emissions by 60 per cent over the next 50 years. But Australian prime minister John Howard has criticised the move.
Howard asserted in parliament that the proposal would adversely affect the resource industry, cause unemployment and lead to higher fuel prices. "The data of the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics shows that a 50 per cent cut in Australian emissions by 2050 will lead to a 10 per cent fall in gross domestic product, a 20 per cent fall in real wages, and a 600 per cent rise in electricity and gas prices,' he said.
His latest assertion complements his stand on the Kyoto Protocol