European Commission president gives carbon plan the thumbs up

EUROPEAN Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso says it is important for Europe that Australia implements carbon pricing.

2 min read

12:00AMSeptember 07, 2011

TheAustralian

EUROPEAN Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned yesterday it was "very important" for Europe that Australia implement its planned carbon pricing policy.

In an interview with The Australian, Mr Barroso said the European experience showed that once Australia acted its gains would be both economic and environmental.

Mr Barroso's message was Australia's new and growing importance to Europe, given the Gillard government's carbon policy. He pushed the case for action while saying he had no wish to interfere in Australia's domestic politics.

On every point he affirmed Labor's stand and rejected that of the Coalition.

"There is a business case for fighting climate change," Mr Barroso said. "In Europe we basically have a cross-party consensus from the German Greens to the British Conservatives, to the Christian Democrats, the socialists and the liberals -- all of them support an ambitious agenda in terms of reduction of emissions.

"Pricing carbon increases the efficiency of markets. Climate change in Europe is something that transcends ideological divides."

The message for Australia was stark. Asked if he knew of any nation that had legislated a carbon price only to repeal it later, Mr Barroso said this would not happen in Europe.

Earlier he said: "Systematic action to reduce emissions is not a case of Australia leaping ahead of the world" -- a rejection of Coalition arguments.

He made clear the joint goal was to link the European and Australian emission trading schemes. Since the Coalition opposes any ETS, it has no role in this game plan.

"We believe the best way to deal with this issue is through the market," he told The Australian. "If we put a price on markets and link these markets, it reduces emissions and fosters innovation. Our experience in Europe is that the countries that do more on climate change are the most successful in technological innovation."

He said the key to winning a domestic policy consensus lay in highlighting the economic benefits from pricing carbon.

"This is not just seen in Europe as part of the green agenda," Mr Barroso said. "It is part of the modernisation of our economies. We want to see Australia as well committed to these goals."

Mr Barroso said Europe wanted a global legally binding agreement on emission reductions but "unfortunately we have not seen the same commitment from other parties, namely some of the major emitters".

He said the US was keen to do more, and that President Barack Obama had made this clear in their talks.

"How long will it take? I don't know," he said of the US.

Paul KellyEditor-At-Large

Paul Kelly is Editor-at-Large on The Australian. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of the paper and he writes on Australian politics, public policy and international affairs. Paul has covered Australian governments from Gough Whitlam to Anthony Albanese. He is a regular television commentator and the author and co-author of twelve books books including The End of Certainty on the politics and economics of the 1980s. His recent books include Triumph and Demise on the Rudd-Gillard era and The March of Patriots which offers a re-interpretation of Paul Keating and John Howard in office.