A CLIMATE sharing system that provides allocations similar to the way water is managed could be the answer to SA’s burgeoning power problems, according to one of the state’s leading academics.
The concept was raised by University of Adelaide professor Mike Young at Rural Media SA’s May meeting on Monday.
“The River Murray is celebrated globally as one of the best managed in the world,” he said.
“If we could set up a climate sharing policy, as we set up water shares, it should be simple to do, but it is also important to do.”
Prof Young suggested the first step in setting up a climate sharing system would be to prepare a bill that would commit Australia to the use of the system as the prime means of ensuring the nation remained within nationally and internationally agreed greenhouse gas emission limits.
Climate shares would be issued in perpetuity and at the start of each year allocation would be distributed in proportion to the number of shares on issue – just as is done for much of Australia’s fishing and water resources.
Every shareholder would be given a bank-like carbon account that recorded how many allocations were used.
A board would be appointed to prepare and periodically revise the plan to determine how many allocations should be made.
Prof Young said a sharing system like this would bring certainty and confidence to the sector.
“Brown coal power stations are shutting down, but they’re not being replaced with other things, and the reason why this is, is because there’s no long-term plan for the sector and no one is investing as much as they should,” he said.
“Water and fisheries management is different because they have long-term plans. The fishery industry is vibrant and prosperous because it has quotas in place, which ultimately creates prosperous communities.”
Prof Young proposed the system be rolled out with a share register.
“If you set up a sharing system it would have a simple rule – if you want more energy, you need to find someone who wants less,” he said.
Prof Young suggested the shares be made mortgageable, so the owners could borrow with security against the asset.
To build support in the general public he floated the idea of a ‘community return’ arrangement as part of the scheme involving a compulsory annual sale of 1 per cent to 3pc of every shareholding, with funds raised split evenly between federal, state and local governments.
“You’d have lock-in because every level of government would be interested in making the system work,” he said.