| abstract
| - The environmental impact of transport in Australia is considerable. Australia subsidizes fossil fuel energy, keeping prices artificially low and raising greenhouse gas emissions due to the increased use of fossil fuels as a result of the subsidies. The Australian Energy Regulator and state agencies such as the New South Wales' Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal set and regulate electricity prices, thereby lowering production and consumer cost. According to a report by The Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) [1] at University of Technology Sydney, titled: "Energy and Transport Subsidies in Australia", roughly 70% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the energy and transport industries. The uptake of renewable energy in these sectors is slow because of subsidies to fossil fuels and the high cost of acquiring the sophisticated technology required to produce cleaner fuels. Furthermore, fossil fuels are easier to transport and use, compared to renewable energy, which often require sophisticated instruments to acquire and store. The report revealed that for the 2005–2006 financial year, transport subsidies were measured to reach up to $10.1 billion, of which 74% related to transport, 18% to electricity and 4% to renewable and efficient energy. These subsidies help energy generation companies increase their profits, therefore encouraging the building of additional coal-fuel power plants. Investing in other, more sustainable, types of electricity generation plants would have cost less than continuing to subsidize the building of these power plants. On a positive note, alternative transport fuels such as natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas are excused from fuel excise/tax. Tax calculated for the use of a company car is calculated as such: the further the person drives the car, the higher the business use and the lower the personal use. Since tax is calculated based on personal use, drivers tend to drive longer distances to lessen the amount of tax that they have to pay. This leads to a higher consumption of vehicular fossil fuels and, subsequently, higher greenhouse gas emissions. Dr Hal Turton, the Group Leader of the Energy Economics Group at Swiss research establishment, the Paul Scherrer Institute, discussed in his report for Canberra-based think tank The Australia Institute titled: "The Aluminium Smelting Industry: Structure, Market Power, Subsidies and Greenhouse Gas Emissions", that the yearly electrical use subsidy for the use of the six aluminium smelters in Australia is at least A$210 million. According to the report, Australia's aluminium smelting industry is party to one of the most subsidized electricity charges as compared to other similar establishments. The ISF report found that removing electrical subsidies would bring up electricity prices by 3.9%, which would lead to a fall in demand of electricity by 1.4% in the long run. Reducing transport subsidies would increase prices by 32%, which would lead to a fall in demand worth 18%. It suggests that subsidies should be removed gradually so as not to hurt drivers who have no choice but to use petrol (due to the lack of alternatives), and that taxpayer's funds be channeled to subsidize the sustainable energy industry instead. The National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) is pushing for Australian petrol consumption to be reduced by 50% by 2050. It is advocating a move towards greener transport, and has called for a reduction of the A$10 billion subsidies given to the nation's fossil fuel industry.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)