Who Has It Correct On The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Labor, Liberals Or The Greens?

by Fraser Orr
(Sydney)


So, the Rudd Labor government has decided to scrap its proposed Emissions Trading Scheme, citing a lack of support from the other parties. It?s no surprise that Tony Abbott and the Liberals haven?t gone along with the plan, since opposition to the ETS is what got Abbot into power to begin with. If Malcolm Turnbull managed to keep hold of the leadership, the ETS would probably still be going ahead.

But what has surprised many with their eye on politics is that the Greens have actually sided with the Liberals and voted AGAINST the ETS. This is not something you?d expect from the group that identifies so closely with the environment, so what was the reason for this move?

The Greens do support a carbon tax, and a change from non-renewable energy to more sustainable forms, however Labor?s ETS came with a number of clauses they were not comfortable with. The major sticking point was the fact that, if the ETS were passed, Australia would have locked in support for non-renewable energy until 2020.


Here's Greens leader, Bob Brown, discussing the ETS in November of last year:






Despite these good intentions, many environmentally conscious people are upset with the Greens choosing nothing over a small step. It will be interesting to see where voters decide to put their trust in the coming election.


Fraser


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