A good summary of how the ALP has piled this Pelion of stupidity upon the Ossa of its incompetence. Here, as I see it, are the points that the responsible Minsters need to 'explain' -- if they can.

1. Atmospheric CO2 levels are going up. (Fair enough.)

2. This will cause dramatic changes in living conditions. (Pull the other one.)

3. These changes will be for the worse rather than the better. (Highly unlikely.)

4. These changes can feasibly be stopped or ameliorated. (Oh, come now!)

5. The cost of stopping or ameliorating the changes will be measurably less than the costs of adapting to them. (Says who?)

Any Minister who can successfully 'explain' all of these deserves a Gold Medal in the Olympic Discus for spin alone.

Geoff Carmody,

I suggest this statement in your article makes an unjustified logic jump:

“Any benefits from pricing carbon come from reducing global greenhouse gas emissions compared with ‘business as usual”.

I suggest the statement would be more correctly stated as:

‘Any benefits from pricing carbon come from reducing the estimated damages of global greenhouse gas emissions compared with ‘business as usual’.’

The estimated net damages are due to the estimated damages exceeding the estimated benefits of projected man made contribution to climate change, and the estimated damages of projected sea level rises.

I am not aware of any study that estimates the probability that the proposed CO2 tax and ETS will actually achieve the expected benefits – i.e. of controlling sea levels and of making the climate better than it would be without the CO2 tax and ETS.

Can anyone refer me to such a study?

Geoff certainly makes some good points. As it is presently designed the carbon tax is basically a nuscience that will harm our trade position and do nothing about global emissions.

The real problem, however, remain the renewable energy targets. these are far more onerous that the carbon price and the government has shown no signs of changing the targets, although they were set for different demand levels. But the power wholesalers have shown no signs that they intend to meet the targets..

Ludwig - "peak oil" .. time to start reading. Even the environmental movement has grudgingly agreed that it isn't going to happen. (Although there may be a supply squeeze while new sources come on line.) time to update yourself..

Even if it were proven that increased CO2 is an environmental problem, it has not been proven that the increase in atmospheric CO2 is due to human emissions; and even if the increase in atmospheric CO2 is due to human emissions there is no way China and India, the world's largest emitters are going to stop emitting.

The Carbon tax is a sop to the Greens by an ALP government which has betrayed the interests of Australia to stay in power.

Boring. Roll on the election. We've all made up our minds.

might smell a rat.
Geoff Carmody,
I think it's more like having smelled the rat long before the CT was implemented. The odour of stupidity re the CT is wafting all over the place. It's only a matter of a few months before then stench becomes unbearable unless Julia Gillard keeps CT real low profile & hopes that Tony Abbott will be silly enough to keep it.