Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I indicate that I will not be proceeding with amendment (2) on sheet 5916, relating to agricultural offsets. I move the amendment in relation to emerging technologies, amendment (3) on sheet 5916:

(3)    Page 214 (after line 3), after Part 8, insert:

Part 8B—Emerging technologies offset program

Division 1—Introduction

173M  Aim

                 The aim of this Part is to enable entities to receive Australian emissions units in connection with the use of emerging technologies.

173N  Simplified outline

                 The following is a simplified outline of this Part:

• The regulations must formulate a program, to be known as the emerging technologies offset program, for the issue of free Australian emissions units in respect of offset activities connected with the use of emerging technologies.
• The program may:

(a)

require a recipient of free Australian emissions units to relinquish units; and

(b)

impose reporting or record-keeping requirements on a recipient of free Australian emissions units.

Division 2—Formulation of the emerging technologies offset program

173O  Emerging technologies offset program

        (1)    The regulations must formulate a program (to be known as the emerging technologies offset program) for the issue of free Australian emissions units in respect of offset activities that:

             (a)    are connected with the use of technologies that, under the program, are taken to be emerging technologies; and

             (b)    are, or are to be, carried on in Australian during an eligible financial year specified in the program.

        (2)    The emerging technologies offset program must provide that free Australian emissions units must not be issued to a person in accordance with the program unless the person:

             (a)    meets such requirements as are specified in the program; and

             (b)    has a Registry account.

        (3)    Free Australian emission units must not be issued to a person under the emerging technologies offset program in relation to activities in respect of which free Australian emissions units have been issued under any other Part of the carbon pollution reduction scheme.

        (4)    The Minister must take all reasonable steps to ensure that regulations are made for the purposes of subsection (1) before 1 July 2010.

173P  Emerging technologies

        (1)    For the purposes of the emerging technologies offset program, emerging technology includes the following:

             (a)    landfill waste gas capture;

             (b)    algal carbon capture and sequestration;

             (c)    plantstone carbon sequestration;

             (d)    soil carbon sequestration;

             (e)    reforestation for CO transfer;

              (f)    ocean nourishment technology;

             (g)    land management and soil carbon capture;

             (h)    biogas production;

              (i)    biomass conversion;

              (j)    a technology prescribed by the regulations as an emerging technology.

        (2)    A person may apply to the Authority, in a form prescribed by the regulations, to have a technology recognised as an emerging technology.

        (3)    If a person applies to have a technology recognised as an emerging technology, and the Authority is satisfied that the technology is not prescribed as an emerging technology, then the Authority must either:

             (a)    recommend to the Minister that the technology be prescribed as an emerging technology; or

             (b)    do both of the following:

                   (i)    recommend to the Minister that the technology not be prescribed as an emerging technology; and

                  (ii)    publish on its website its reasons for not recommending that the technology be prescribed as an emerging technology.

        (4)    The Authority may, by written notice given to an applicant, require the applicant to give the Authority further information in connection with the application.

        (5)    If the Authority recommends to the Minister that the technology be prescribed as an emerging technology, the Minister must take all reasonable steps to ensure that regulations are made to prescribe the technology as an emerging technology.

173Q  Relinquishment requirement

        (1)    The emerging technologies offset program may provide that, if:

             (a)    a number of free Australian emissions units have been issued to a person in accordance with the program; and

             (b)    any of the following subparagraphs applies:

                   (i)    a specified event happens;

                  (ii)    a specified circumstance comes into existence;

                 (iii)    the Authority is satisfied about a specified matter;

the person is required to relinquish a number of Australian emissions units ascertained in accordance with the program.

        (2)    Division 3 of Part 15, relating to compliance with relinquishment requirements, applies in relation to the emerging technologies offset program as if a reference to the emissions-intensive trade-exposed assistance program was a reference to the emerging technologies offset program.

        (3)    The number of Australian emissions units required to be relinquished by the person must not exceed the number of units mentioned in paragraph (1)(a).

173R  Reporting requirement

Scope

        (1)    This section applies to a person if free Australian emissions units have been issued to the person in accordance with the emerging technologies offset program.

Requirement

        (2)    The emerging technologies offset program may make provision for and in relation to requiring the person to give one or more written reports to the Authority.

173S  Record-keeping requirement

Scope

        (1)    This section applies to a person if free Australian emissions units have been issued to the person in accordance with the emerging technologies offset program.

Requirement

        (2)    The emerging technologies offset program may make provision for and in relation to requiring the person to:

             (a)    make records of information specified in the program; and

             (b)    retain such a record, or a copy, for 5 years after the record was made.

173T  Other matters

        (1)    The emerging technologies offset program may make provision for and in relation to the following matters:

             (a)    applications for free Australian emissions units;

             (b)    the approval by the Authority of a form for such an application;

             (c)    information that must accompany such an application;

             (d)    documents that must accompany such an application;

             (e)    the method of calculating the number of free Australian emissions units to be issued to a person in accordance with the program.

        (2)    The emerging technologies offset program may provide that an application for free Australian emissions units must be accompanied by a prescribed report.

        (3)    The emerging technologies offset program may provide for verification by statutory declaration of statements in applications for free Australian emissions units.

173U  Ancillary or incidental provisions

                 The emerging technologies offset program may contain ancillary or incidental provisions.

Division 3—Compliance with reporting and record-keeping requirements

173V  Compliance with reporting and record-keeping requirements

Reporting requirements

        (1)    If a person is subject to a requirement under the emerging technologies offset program to give a report to the Authority, the person must comply with that requirement.

Record-keeping requirements

        (2)    If a person is subject to a requirement under the emerging technologies offset program to:

             (a)    make a record of information; or

             (b)    retain such a record or a copy;

the person must comply with that requirement.

Ancillary contraventions

        (3)    A person must not:

             (a)    aid, abet, counsel or procure a contravention of subsection (1) or (2); or

             (b)    induce, whether by threats or promises or otherwise, a contravention of subsection (1) or (2); or

             (c)    be in any way, directly or indirectly, knowingly concerned in, or party to, a contravention of subsection (1) or (2); or

             (d)    conspire with others to effect a contravention of subsection (1) or (2).

Civil penalty provisions

        (4)    Subsections (1), (2) and (3) are civil penalty provisions.

Note:   Part 21 provides for pecuniary penalties for breaches of civil penalty provisions.

This amendment would establish an offset program that would make emerging green technologies eligible for offsets. I acknowledge the comments of my colleagues the Greens, who made the comment that they are concerned that the CPRS is too rigid in its operation and could lock out future innovation. It has the potential for further abatement and cuts in the future. I agree that we need flexibility, and this amendment will provide for that.

I met a couple of weeks ago with a number of representatives from the biosequestration industry. These representatives included Dr John White from Ignite Energy Resources, Andrew Lawson from MBD Energy, Professor Leigh Sullivan from Plantstone, Tony Lovell from Soil Carbon Ltd, John Ridley from Ocean Nourishment and Fiona Wain from Environment Business Australia. The general consensus was that it is important that emerging technologies, particularly in biosequestration, ought to be part of an emissions trading scheme. The potential, I think, is quite amazing in terms of what this can do to reduce CO2. These technologies have the potential to produce a future of net zero emissions for Australia. They could help Australia become a regional leader in environmental emissions reductions and add value to carbon emissions sequestration. Rather than pumping our emissions into a hole in the ground, we could be using them to produce feed, fuel, fertiliser and farm produce. Value could be added. We could be enriching our oceans and nourishing our fields. We could be changing our planting practices to change airborne CO2 to cellulose.

My concern is that, under the current CPRS, there is not enough room for this sort of innovation. I think it is important that there be that innovation. As I understand it, the response is that the government is not able to consider these technologies because they are not recognised under Kyoto. However, with Kyoto being 10 years old and with some of these technologies having emerged just in the last few years, it is important that a mechanism be in place to ensure that we can maximise the benefit and potential of new technologies. This is something that ought to be dealt with. I look forward to the government’s response to this. There is tremendous potential with respect to emerging technologies and, at the very least, that should be acknowledged in the context of any emissions trading scheme.