(EnergyAsia, November 9 2011, Wednesday) — Australia’s Parliament has voted to pass the government’s carbon tax package that the coal association says contains “fatal flaws” handicapping one of the country’s largest expert earners at a time of uncertainty in the global economy.

With the support of the Greens party, the Senate voted 36 to 32 to adopt the package of 18 clean energy bills proposed by the government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard who staked her political survival to clinch an historic victory.

After years of debate, Australia will impose a A$23 a tonne carbon tax on 500 of the country’s biggest greenhouse gas emissions from next July. Much of the money collected will be redistributed to households and companies that step up the use of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of Canberra’s attempt to fight global warming.
  
The Australian Coal Association (ACA) said it will continue to seek to have a number of issues addressed regarding the carbon tax package following the passing of the legislation yesterday.

While expressing its support for action on climate change, it offered the following criticism:

“No other coal exporting country imposes a tax on fugitive emissions from coal mining. In doing so, the carbon tax will make Australia’s coal industry less competitive internationally, without delivering any environmental benefit by way of global emissions reduction.

“Not only has the coal industry been excluded from transitional assistance as an emissions-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) industry, despite meeting the government’s own criteria, but the coal industry’s exclusion is enshrined in the legislation. Section 145 of the main bill permanently locks coalmining out of the transitional assistance arrangements, regardless of future market conditions or the outcome of any Productivity Commission

Reviews of the effectiveness and scope of the EITE arrangements.”

The ACA said that carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been shut out of access to funding including the A$10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation. (US$1=A$0.95).

“Treasury modelling of the Clean Energy Future package acknowledges the essential role of CCS in meeting Australia’s emissions reduction targets while underwriting the nation’s energy security and national competitiveness. This exclusion of CCS is completely inconsistent with the national interest. It is inconsistent with the international recognition of the role of CCS by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and by the US Department of Energy. CCS should have the same access to a competitive process for this funding as the suite of other low emission technologies.”

The ACA said it will seek to promote better understanding of the case for CCS as a critical part of the global response to climate change.

“Australia has a strategic interest in the technology, not just for reducing emissions from coal and gas in power generation, but also from industrial processes such as steel and cement manufacturing and natural gas processing associated with liquefied natural gas (LNG) production,” it said.