PDC: Energy, Environment and Climate Change Policy

Working group report
This working group was tasked with developing policy to deal with climate and environmental issues. This policy is in the development stage, so if you want to contribute email policydev@pirateparty.org.au.

Preamble
Pirate Party Australia accepts the scientific view on environmental and climate change issues and acknowledges that the welfare of future generations is sufficiently important to warrant applying a precautionary principle. Pirate Party Australia advocates the use of innovation and technology to deliver sustainable prosperity to Australia.

A 21st century energy grid
Australia has significant natural advantages as an energy producer, but our energy model is riddled with problems. Decades-old coal power plants are reaching the end of their life, with accumulated maintenance costs on obsolete infrastructure rising above $100 billion. A “business as usual” approach will pass this huge burden of costs to consumers and businesses in the form of perpetually rising energy prices, which will only add to the hidden costs coal already imposes on our health, ecosystems and waterways.

Science and technology offer a better alternative: renewable energy offers increasingly vast economic opportunity for countries willing to invest. Nations including Canada, Denmark, and Norway have already constructed viable base-load renewable energy grids. Proactive investment undertaken now will remove a burden of deadweight costs in the future and provide Australia with a clean, community-centred energy grid in place of our current centralised, monopoly-based structures.

To drive this investment, we propose the introduction of a unified, comprehensive feed-in tariff (FIT) on renewable energy. A FIT is a long-term contract offered to renewable energy producers which guarantees the purchase of power over time. Feed-in-tariffs are the most successful global mechanism for encouraging renewable energy development   and offer significant advantages over other approaches. Where a renewable energy target (RET) drives investment only in the cheapest sources, FIT contracts can be varied for different forms of energy, underpinning the creation of a balanced and reliable energy mix. Where a RET may increase energy prices, FIT costs can be met out of general government revenue, pushing prices down. A single national, consolidated FIT would also replace six piecemeal state solar schemes, simplifying our national response to climate change. . FIT contracts on offer can have their levels dynamically adjusted based on the quantity of renewables deployed: this encourages early investment, caps costs, and provides the right mix of certainty and adaptability. A share of contracts can be allocated to smaller-scale community owned assets, underpinning a decentralised grid where voluntary providers gain freedom to choose locally suitable options.

A technology fund will be established to sponsor the necessary grid upgrades. Improvements to the grid will include smart meter roll-outs as well as enhanced support for electric vehicles (electric vehicle batteries constitute a useful form of 'dispatchable demand' that can help to balance energy supply). Pirate Party Australia would also seek to reduce burdens on the grid through the establishment of an Energy Efficiency Fund modeled on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. This fund will offer loans and capital to businesses to improve energy use and overcome misaligned incentives (for example, cases where landlords have no incentive to improve buildings because power bills are paid by tenants). Like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Energy Efficiency Fund will be required to return dividends to taxpayers.

The weight of scientific evidence clearly shows that the bulk of remaining coal must be left in the ground in order to avoid catastrophic climate impacts on our ecology, oceans, cities and farms. While exploitation of existing mines is necessary as an interim measure, we believe approvals for new thermal coal exploration should be paused until Carbon Capture and Storage technology is in commercial use by potential buyers. A similar precautionary approach is warranted for coal seam gas (CSG) extraction, which is currently being undertaken from a position of profound ignorance regarding its impacts on rivers, groundwater, and food security. Given the emerging evidence of fugitive emissions leaks and other unforeseen impacts, we believe hydraulic fracturing should be subject to a moratorium until meaningful evidence is available to demonstrate its safety.

Pirate Pirate Australia opposes any roll-back in existing carbon mitigation measures. Carbon pricing is supported in particular as an effective way to simultaneously drive investment, cut emissions and reduce taxes on work and savings. Carbon farming and the use of ‘Green Corps’ to improve the condition of land are similarly supported, although we would seek to focus the Green Corps on improving degraded farmland as this land is more likely to be managed in a way that preserves improvements.

While the changes required to our energy model are significant, the benefits will be immense. A transformation of Australia’s energy grid will meet climate change objectives and reduce the debilitating costs of dirty power sources on economic growth, public health,  and waterways. Investment in our farms and regions will provide economic stimulus, create tens of thousands of skilled jobs, and improve the resilience of farms and small businesses by allowing them to 'dual use' their land and premises to supply energy. Investment will also boost our broader economic strength by lowering energy prices and avoiding the crippling dead-weight costs attached to maintenance of our existing coal grid. Investment in renewable energy is more than just a response to climate change: it is an important economic reform.

Preserving Australia’s ecology
Pirate Party Australia believes management of our environment should be holistic and reflect the best available scientific knowledge. Cases such as the Murray Darling system demonstrate the risks of splitting ecosystem management across state borders: a more unified approach which recognises the interconnections and complexity of ecosystems is needed. Accordingly, we will press for the development of a comprehensive biodiversity matrix to better classify land and ocean ecosystems. This will underpin a more scientific approach to land management and provide the public with essential information about the ecological health of our continent.

Pirate Party Australia supports extending Federal environmental oversight to cover additional areas such as rivers and forests. We will also advocate for expanded investment in national park and biodiversity programs.

Questions of ecology and energy are ultimately about adjudicating between the rights of current and future generations. The Pirate Party believes in the adoption of an open and scientific framework to help inform these difficult questions.

Policy text
The Pirate Party will seek to address ecological issues and climate change through the following measures.

Combine state feed-in tariffs into a comprehensive national scheme

 * Coverage to include wind, solar PV, solar thermal, geothermal energy, hydropower and biomass with potential expansion to other energy forms.
 * An expert panel will set tariff levels and contract lengths to support the creation of a balanced base-load grid, with a target of 50% renewable electricity generation in 10 years.
 * Tariffs will be subject to annual reviews and automatic degression as a function of the quantity of renewables deployed.
 * 20% of capacity will be reserved for small-scale and community projects.
 * Grid connections will be mandatory where access is feasible, with a facilitation office to speed approval processes and provide mediation.
 * Consumers would receive energy price rebates (to offset any costs) or a one-off voucher for installation of solar PV and/or accredited insulation systems.
 * A $7 billion technology fund will be established to facilitate FIT-related grid upgrades, smart meter rollouts, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
 * EV charging locations will be determined with a national rollout plan.
 * A panel will be formed between government and industry to develop an Australian standard for EV rechargers.
 * Assistance to private operators who wish to operate recharging stations will be offered through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
 * A corporation will be created with joined State and federal government ownership to lease recharging sites on public land.

Adopt regulatory measures to improve energy efficiency

 * Retain a carbon tax based on the 2012 model, with price increases fixed at CPI + 5% p/a.
 * Extend coverage to include heavy on-road transport.
 * Adopt EU 2020 vehicle fuel efficiency standards including the passenger vehicle target of 95g CO2/Km by 2023.
 * Ensure all buildings are subject to mandatory disclosure of energy ratings, with performance-based standards to all retrofits and new buildings.
 * Require 6-star NABERS ratings for new buildings by 2015.
 * Extend commercial tax deductions to include purchase of appliances and equipment with enhanced efficiency ratings.
 * Provide a single public information source to outline energy incentives and easy and common ways for businesses to save energy.
 * Establish an Energy Efficiency Finance Corporation with initial funding of $3 billion, to offer capital and fund guarantees for energy efficiency projects including retrofits, equipment upgrades, and Environmental Upgrade Agreements.
 * Investments will be required to generate a return to taxpayers.
 * Collection of loan repayments through utility meters will be trialled.

Phase out coal and coal seam gas extraction

 * Ban development or expansion of new coal fired power stations.
 * Institute a moratorium on new or expanded thermal coal mines.
 * This moratorium will be reviewed once carbon capture and storage technology is in use by potential buyers.
 * Funding to the Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program will be restored.
 * Institute a moratorium on extraction of coal seam gas through hydraulic fracturing.
 * The moratorium will apply to new mines and additional fracturing on current mines in metropolitan areas.
 * Periodical reviews will assess evidence and present recommendations to the Government on the scientific case for lifting or modifying the moratorium.
 * Extraction and exploration in or around water catchment areas and aquifers will be permanently banned.
 * Landowners will be granted a right to refuse exploitation of coal seam gas on land they own.

Improve environmental management and land use

 * Support improved land management practices in regional areas.
 * Provide an additional $60 million over 3 years to the CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship program, to support research, development and deployment of biochar and other forms of sequestration.
 * Provide ten thousand additional 'Green Corps' places to provide farmers with cost-free reforestation and re-vegetation of marginal land.
 * Conduct an independent review of Carbon Farming Initiative to examine potential improvements including regulatory streamlining, better accounting for native forestry management, and inclusion of alternative sequestration periods.
 * Develop a biodiversity matrix to classify land and ocean ecosystems and species distribution.
 * Information collected will be published, and will inform land use changes, development approvals, and management of national parks.
 * Species reported as being at risk of extinction will be listed as “notifiable”.
 * Funding cuts to the Biodiversity Fund will be reversed.
 * Expand the environmental oversight of the federal government to cover climate, rivers and water areas, national parks and forests.
 * Provide independent statutory status to areas overseeing environmental approvals.
 * Ensure clear channels exist for local and community input, with autonomy devolved to regional communities and expert bodies in matters of purely local impact.
 * Increase national park thresholds to cover 15% of land in Australia, with a representative sample of at least 80% of regional ecosystems protected in each bio-region.
 * Engage NGOs in management of feral animals, with options to include the creation of fenced-off “arks” where endangered native species can be re-introduced.
 * Reverse the burden of proof currently applying to the 'Assessment and Approvals' section of the National Parks Act in areas where the biodiversity matrix records high biodiversity value.
 * Ban port expansions, dredging and offshore dumping of dredge spoil within World Heritage waters.
 * Provide additional $20 million funding to the Reef Rescue program to support management of water quality issues in the Barrier Reef.