Hosted in conjunction with Greenbank Environmental and KPMG, the event opened with keynote speaker the Hon. Carmel Tebbutt, New South Wales Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate Change and the Environment.
Minister Tebbutt recognised the importance of the seminar in marking the start of a great partnership between the Clean Energy Council, the New South Wales Government and the growing number of businesses engaged in moving towards a greener economy. She acknowledged the vast opportunities afforded for business investment through a shift toward a low carbon environment.
Greenbank CEO and Clean Energy Council Board Member Fiona O’Hehir officially launched the 2008 Carbon & Renewable Energy Markets Report dedicated to explaining and examining carbon markets. The existence of these markets creates an economic incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, overcome behavioural barriers to improved energy efficiency, and deploy low emission technologies such as renewable energy.
The Council’s report recommends that, in addition to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), there is a need for complementary policy measures to be implemented to ensure that greenhouse gas abatement is achieved quickly, and smoothly at least-cost with minimal disruption to the economy.
Ms O’Hehir reiterated that with the implementation of emissions trading and the expansion of the renewable energy target, there will be substantial and diverse business opportunities in the evolving landscape, including research and development, commercial services and new products driven to commercialisation.
Clean Energy Council General Manager – Policy Rob Jackson discussed the report which details
• The CPRS
• The current Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) and a review of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) produced under this existing scheme
• The expanded national Renewable Energy Target (RET) and the effect this target may have on REC Markets.
The seminar continued with presentations by a number of experts in their respective fields and included panels for question and answers. TFS Green Senior Broker Chris Halliwell presented ’CPRS Explained’, which took a broad look at the proposed design of the CPRS, how it fits in relation to Australia’s Kyoto Protocol participation and what it means for Australian businesses. His trajectory graphs were of particular interest to the audience.
KPMG Tax Partner Rod Henderson provided an overview of the CPRS tax treatment of permits as proposed in the Federal Government’s Green Paper and other tax issues that may arise as part of the government’s climate change policies.
Colin Barker, Senior Engineer, Sustainable Development of Advitech, discussed ‘How to Establish your Environmental Credentials’ through tailored energy auditing, designed to identify energy savings in new and established facilities. An interactive conversation amongst panel and audience raised many interesting energy efficiency ideas and solutions.
Capturing audience attention was NabCapital’s Sean Lucy, Head of Carbon Solutions Group - Institutional Banking, who examined the financial impacts of the CPRS outside the major emitters and how the carbon price will be felt across the entire supply chain.
The Council’s Seminar Series brings together panels of experts who share insider tips and tools to help organisations avoid pitfalls and maintain a successful business in an emerging marketplace.
