Australia's Decarbonised Economy

The world economy is a very complex system; in the system harmful externalities disrupt capital flows and determine economic productivity. Most notable of these externalities is inadvertent global warming. Spending towards research and regulation of climate change at both the national and international level are very important in determining current and future business trends. Economists and scientists worldwide continuously debate the pros and cons of emissions reduction and what consequences can quickly follow. Though many have different views on the issue, all can agree that the immediate and long term effects of climate change have become an economic matter of paramount importance. The sweeping impact from climate change will have important fiscal, financial, and macroeconomic ramifications that influence global commerce standards.

Australia’s carbon tax led to a drop in electricity sector emissions by as much as 17 million tons (9%). Many contend that the effects would have been more

On the same note, the energy revolution spoken of above brings forth another advance in the ongoing global climate situation. The nature of the Kyoto Protocol calls for nations to increase research and eventually semi-convert their energy usage to accommodate for cleaner energy. Products such as solar power, wind power, biomass, geothermal power, and hydropower are now widely being studying to create processes that use less coal, oil, and natural gas in production. Altogether the results have

Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions have historically been steadily increasing. However, in recent years this trend has stopped - the emissions rate has steadied. The Australian nation has been emitting in the range of 250,000 to 450,000 thousand metric tons greenhouse gases per year from 1990 to 2010.

With a GDP of over $1 trillion USD, the Australian economy is among the largest in the world (Cornett and Saunders, 2014). Australia is trading partners with the United States, China, and Japan, but their economic ties are mainly centered in the Pacific Rim. Exports are crucial to the country’s GDP and this has created problems regarding sustainability in the Australian economy.

At this point in time our possible solutions to the global warming are few; our technologies aren’t advanced enough to take the brunt of energy production and wean away from fossil fuel, and we have been too passive for too long regarding our CO2 emissions that’s it’s not feasible to either use cap and trade, or a flat out reduction of CO2. At our current rate of growth, energy from alternative energy sources will be around 8% of the total energy usage by 2025 (Butler 3). This is not nearly enough to be used as a feasible solution to combat our rising CO2 production, and by the time this is feasible, sever climate changes may have

Low density development and urban sprawl, together with automobile dependency are the factors contributing to global warming. Unfortunately, low density development remains the fastest growing land use in Australia. It consists of homes located on large block of lands. This paper has argued that this pattern of development is unsustainable because it requires significant amount of energy to sustain. The low-density design of Australian cities, together with the large-scale infrastructure for managing resources are key drivers to the environmental problems facing Australia and the principal reasons behind Australia’s exceptionally large per capita carbon and ecological footprints ( Rauland and Newman 2011). In order to decarbonise our cities,

Global warming, the cause of our ice caps melting and the sea levels rising. The G7 nations have come together to put a stop to these environmental issues by introducing a plan to stop the earth’s temperature rising by 2c. Decarbonising the world’s economy is the only way to stop an increase in the earth’s temperature and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Climate works Australia and the Australian national university are leading the journey to a decarbonised Australia by 2050, with no major

Socolow and Stephen W. Pacala in their article, “A Plan to Keep Carbon In Check (2006)" suggests that “today’s notoriously inefficient energy system can be replaced if the world gives unprecedented attention to energy efficiency.” Taking steps to institute policies and be cost-efficient will entail structural change, but in the end will be in the best interest for countries to aid in the adaptation of lower carbon products and economic competitiveness. They further state that governments need “to stimulate the commercialization of low-carbon technologies” so there is less demand for fossil fuels thereby increasing “competitive options” for the future. (Socolow & Pacala, 2006) Consequently, the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is causing the rise of global temperatures. Utilizing technology specifically for carbon capture and storage is crucial so we can slowly begin our process of adapting to other energy resources. It is also important that all countries participate in policies that will reduce emissions in a cost-effective

The analysis pointed out Australia being one of the most carbon producing country will have to allow regulations and policies to be implemented to curb the rising carbon emission such as Carbon Taxing and Carbon Trading.

reduce our carbon footprint and carbon emissions to stop global warming and lessen it’s impact on

In February 2011, the Australian federal government declared a scheme to implement a Carbon Tax from July 1, 2012. Implementing this scheme has generated a controversial debate between Australians. The term “Carbon tax” refers to an environmental tax forcing polluters to pay per ton of carbon which they release into the atmosphere. This essay will provide the economical, social and political implication of carbon taxes, also with its introduction who will benefit and who would suffer.

The most of global energy production produces from fossil fuel such as coal, oil and natural gas. The vast fossil fuels generate energy which use for many purposes for instant residential, transportation and industrial sectors. While the rate consumption of fossil fuel higher than their formation leads to oil price crisis. Another concern of fossil fuel combustion is the impact on the environment. Global warming is a significant problem which results in increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. These problems drive researchers and societies to search alternative energy such as switching to renewable energy or carbon-free energy to replace fossil fuels. For example Nakata et al., (2011:465) show ‘low-carbon society’

Reduce the overall man-made carbon footprint balance generated by developed and industrialized countries. This goal can be broken down into specific quantifiable targets:

The protocol agreement suggested countries were required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 5% against levels produced in 1990. A further extension was agreed to depreciate the emissions by 18% below the levels in 1990 during an eight year time period from 2013 to 2020.