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Retailers caution against Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme ARA says: Show us the science Wong

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has cautioned against the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme planned to be implemented by 2010 and has called on Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong to open up broader debate about global warming and the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said retailers are concerned about the proposed start date of the ETS. 

"Before GST was introduced, it was debated going into an election and then after an election during the legislative process. The Rudd Government is calling ETS the biggest economic shift since the introduction of GST, yet they plan to legislate within 12 months and implement by 2010. It is simply too soon. 

"Contrary to the discussion surrounding the introduction of GST, there has been no debate regarding the science behind the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. The Government's rhetoric and dismissive scare tactics are diluting any doubts about the impact of carbon pollution on climate change. 

"Rocket scientist and climate change expert David Evans (who produced FullCAM - used by the Australian Government to calculate its land-use carbon accounts for the Kyoto Protocol) has publicly stated most of the public and key decision makers are not aware of the most basic, salient facts about the causes of global warming. He states:  ‘There is no evidence to support the idea that carbon emissions cause significant global warming. None.' (The Australian, ‘ No smoking hot spot', Friday 18 July 2008).

"The real inconvenient truth for the Rudd Government may be that science doesn't back up the theory behind ETS. We're very concerned about the costs of ETS being passed onto consumers along the entire supply chain. A very real question to ask is the likely impact of ETS on the cost of a basket of food," Evans said. 

"This will significantly impact retailers who are heavy energy users, particularly when refrigeration of groceries is taken into account, but retailers have been ignored in terms of financial offsets and rebates. There is no economic modeling included in the Green Paper but retailers and consumers alike need to be asking questions about the impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on grocery prices. 

"There has been too much passive discussion surrounding ETS and not enough questioning. This is the biggest economic shift since GST and it is time for all Australians to roll their sleeves up and get involved in this debate rather than just accept the current dismissive ideological narrative," Evans said. 

For over 104 years, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body in Australia's $292 billion retail sector which employs over 1.2 million people. As an incorporated employer body under the Workplace Relations Act and with a range of member services including business consulting, policy development, advocacy and education, the ARA promotes and protects over 5000 independent and national retailers throughout Australia. Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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