Greens propose early bird carbon scheme

There's a fresh climate change plan on the table - an early bird carbon tax to make
a start on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Devising a long-term scheme is proving tough for politicians as they wrangle over
emissions trading.
The Australian Greens say their temporary proposal, which would start in six months'
time and run for two years, is a "circuit breaker".
It would mean a petrol price hike of about five cents a litre and higher electricity
prices.
"It gives us action now ... the alternative is to do nothing," Greens leader Bob
Brown told reporters in Parliament House on Thursday.
"Here is the mechanism which is going to get the climate change bus going again here
in Canberra."
The government's plan to bring in its ETS has twice been voted down in parliament
and appears to be facing defeat again next month, leaving Australia's climate
actions in limbo.
The Greens' scheme would levy a carbon tax of $23 a tonne on greenhouse gas
emissions, starting this July.
Emissions from farming would be excluded but petrol would be included, and there
would be no compensation for coal-fired power stations, which means higher power
prices.
The tax would raise just over $10 billion a year, half of which would go back to
households as compensation.
$1.2 billion of each year's revenue would go to poor countries to help them tackle
climate change.
The scheme does not include targets for reducing emissions, a contentious issue, but
the Greens say it could reduce emissions by about two per cent over two years.
The Greens have given some ground in proposing the scheme but it is still an
earlier, faster, less business-friendly model than the government wants.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hasn't ruled out supporting the Greens' proposal, saying
he hadn't had time to examine it.
The Greens' scheme could provide a solution to the government's struggle to lock in
a plan to reduce emissions, but Mr Rudd may not support it because it's greener than
the government's plans.
"We are open to discussions with all parties within the Australian parliament on the
proper passage of necessary legislation to act on climate change," Mr Rudd told
reporters in South Australia.
Opposition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt said his party would take a look at
the Greens' proposal.
Given the coalition's stance against a carbon price, it may not win support there.
If the Greens were to win over the government and independent senator Nick Xenophon
to their scheme, they would still be one vote short in the Senate.
Senator Brown hoped an opposition senator would cross the floor or Family First
senator Steve Fielding could vote yes.
Meanwhile, with hopes dimming of a world climate treaty being reached by the UN this
year, Mr Hunt has called for Australia and Indonesia to get together to try a new
approach.
The UN's climate chief Yvo de Boer said this week it was unlikely UN processes would
yield a legally-binding treaty in 2010.
This follows the fraught and largely unsuccessful UN climate conference at
Copenhagen last December.
Mr Hunt suggested the world's biggest economies try to tackle climate change,
separate from the UN.
Australia could co-host a meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) with Indonesia,
perhaps in March, Mr Hunt said.
The MEF is made up of 17 large economies, including all major emitters, and meets
regularly to discuss economic issues.