The Australian government has stopped all work by the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) on meeting its commitments under the Kyoto protocol and its international emissions trading scheme, believing that it is unlikely to come into effect and that it created no incentive for industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the move has been criticised by the opposition environment spokesman Kelvin Thompson, who said that Australia was out of step with other countries, where governments and companies are developing emissions trading regimes. He said: “The European Union will be introducing emissions trading from 2005. If our government is not prepared to work on emissions trading, then our companies will miss out on business opportunities and we will not be in a position to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in a market-based way in the years ahead.”
