Pirate Congress 2022/Motions/Climate Change Energy update

PM-2 Climate Change and Energy update
Put by: Tyrone D'Lisle

Motion
Adopt the following as an update and replacement of the existing Climate Change and Energy policy.

Climate change and Energy
Decades of scientific research shows a clear consensus that human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, is changing the earth’s climate. The science also shows that this change is pushing the earth’s climate into a state that will make life on earth more difficult and costly.



Fossil fuels do not merely generate greenhouse gases: particulate air pollution from burning fossil fuels kills millions of people each year and generates massive volumes of toxic waste. Replacement of fossil fuels with cleaner technology thus offers us an opportunity to improve human well-being and the environment.

Australia is well positioned for this transition. We have robust wind and solar resources, have very high known uranium and thorium reserves, and have few land use conflicts so far and vast coastlines which provide good site locations for various clean energy technologies.

Australian households have already shown a desire to adopt clean energy technology with the adoption of rooftop solar being one of the highest in the world. Electric vehicle uptake too is increasing as new infrastructure becomes available and the technology matures. Governments should be supporting this uptake wherever it is economic to do so.

The current energy market has shown itself to be a failure and there is desperate need for reform. This failure was clear during 2022 when the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) had to suspend the entire National Electricity Market (NEM) to avoid major blackouts across 5 States. A reform process must be undertaken to ensure supply and root out rent seeking and profiteering within Australia’s energy system.

Pirate Party regards a fixed carbon price as important. Predictable pricing provides the certainty which long-term investment requires, and would create a mechanism for energy efficiency and innovation all across the economy. Environmental externalities represent a form of privatised profits and socialised losses, which a properly run economy should reject. Pirate Party Australia endorses existing climate policies in the absence of a more efficient alternative. However, a holistic price on carbon and measures to support technology and competition represent the best model for long-term improvement in our energy systems.

Pirate Party Australia advocates the following reforms:


 * Enact measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, and to zero net emissions by 2050.
 * Remove legislative prohibitions on the use of nuclear energy, nuclear fuel fabrication and reprocessing, and uranium mining, while retaining prohibitions on weapons-grade processing and abiding by nuclear non-proliferation agreements.
 * Re-purpose the 'Climate Solutions Fund' to support 'blue sky' research into alternative climate solutions, such as carbon drawdown technology, small modular reactors, nuclear fusion, and food additives to reduce farm emissions.
 * Increase the Clean Energy Finance Corporation investment to $50B annually and expand it to support loans for community power start-up costs and grid connections, and nuclear energy.
 * Remove the GST on energy and substitute a carbon price based on the successful 2014-15 model.
 * Apply a price on exported carbon to purchase carbon offsets through the UN clean development mechanism.
 * Remove waste levy exemptions currently applying to coal power.
 * Adopt current EU standards for vehicle fuel efficiency and energy efficiency in consumer goods and buildings.
 * Remove taxes on electric vehicles.
 * Work to adopt a universal plug for electric vehicles.

Rationale
The 2022 Federal election showed that there is a desire from the Australian public for greater action on climate change and a transition to clean energy. The latest IPCC reports also show there is an urgent need for action. I felt the existing Pirate Party policy on Climate Change and Energy needed updating to better reflect this pressing need for action and the current circumstances we find ourselves in. The existing policy doesn’t accurately reflect the evidence on nuclear energy and the need for it as an option as we transition to a clean energy system.