ENVIRONMENT—ENERGY POLICIES

The Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Milne), pursuant to notice of motion not objected to as a formal motion, moved general business notice of motion no. 1054—That the Senate—

 (a) notes the report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Australia 2012 which concludes:

  (i) Australia's carbon price scheme is `an example of the standard of leadership that the IEA has been calling for so that the energy sector can be protected from sudden and vacillating climate policy that paralyses investors and disrupts energy markets',

  (ii) Australia's implementation of carbon pricing marks `the first major fossil fuel energy resource rich economy to take the most cost effective mitigation measure',

  (iii) the design of the emissions trading scheme `fits well' with the IEA's findings on lessons from international experience, with the exception of the free permits and cash given to coal-fired generators,

  (iv) supplementary policies to the carbon price are required to successfully make a transition to a low-carbon economy, and welcomes the establishment of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and

  (v) further incentives should be introduced to increase energy efficiency, covering new buildings and refurbishment of existing building stock, and notes `much more work' is required on improved fuel efficiency; and

 (b) urges the Government to adopt world's best practice by implementing the IEA's recommendation for the removal of free permits for coal-fired generators and the phase-out of over-generous allocations.

Question put.

The Senate divided—

Question negatived.