Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Up 3.8% in October
Amid continued debate over Australia's carbon tax, the country's greenhouse gas emission rose by 3.8 per cent in October, according to the Emissions Insights report of RepuTex carbon analytics's for the last month.
RepuTex Associate Director Prayank Katiyar forecast that the emissions will even go up further by 4.7 per cent in November due to the higher seasonal demand for power as days become warmer and generators continue to ramp up capacity.
By state, Victoria was the biggest polluter, overtaking New South Wales in September. However, because of the introduction of the carbon tax, emissions in Victoria are forecast to go down beginning in 2015 as brown coal generation is forced.
However, Queensland will continue to register a continuous increase as more gas-fired generators come online and demand increases.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard predicts that the theatrics over the carbon tax is expected to wane in the coming months, and even claims that Opposition leader Tony Abbott will not repeal the measure if his party wins the next election.
She admitted, though that the carbon-emitting coal will continue to be used in Australia for the next 40 year. However, the Greens are pushing for a shift to 100 per cent renewable energy, which South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi criticised.
"The Greens party has repainted old-fashioned Marxism with a pale-green brush and convinced a section of the Australian public that its agenda is cuddling koalas and saving trees.... But... this is a radical party that seeks to fundamentally change our economy and society, and is pulling the strings in the Prime Ministers's office and unfortunately it holds the balance of power in the Senate," Adelaide Now quoted Mr Bernardi