Australia.

Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

Australia ranks among those countries with the most wealth per capita and its labour
market has weathered the global financial crisis comparably well; in fact unemployment
rates have barely exceeded 6%. Nonetheless, relative poverty in Australia (14.4% of
the population) is higher than the OECD average (11.3%) as is our comparative
inequality, measured by Gini coefficient.i.

In recent times growth has been almost exclusively due to sales of the country's varied
natural resources at high prices on international markets. An added bonus for Australia
is its location as it can exploit the Asian market and, hence, China's thirst for raw
materials - particularly minerals and coal. It is not then surprising that the extractive
sectors exert a very strong influence over the country.

The economy is facing significant diversification challenges exactly because of this

influence. Australia needs to increase innovative manufacturing and other sectors,
which will help to ensure the country's stability against the changing prices of raw
materials. This would effectively lay the foundations of wealth for future generations of
Australians.

Australia numbers among those countries with the highest CO2 emissions per capita
due to the dominance of coal in its energy mix. Although it is true that other polluting
sectors have been reducing their carbon footprint since the 90s, the process for the
electricity sector is particularly sluggish - even to the point where there is a danger of
reversing the current decreasing trend with the repeal of the carbon tax by current
administration. Moreover, the carbon tax repeal came together with the elimination of a
special mining tax, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax.

Decarburizing the Australian energy mix could pay off twice: firstly it is an act of global
fairness, and secondly it is an investment in the future of the country's economy. As the
world moves faster and faster towards zero emissions, a point will soon be reached
where those who fail to comply with an agreed sound roadmap must be punished. The
transformation of the energy mix should also integrate innovative industrial policies as
mentioned above.

Being among the wealthiest and one of the most polluting on a per capita basis, its
current pledges are completely unfair: to reduce its emissions by 26-28% by 2030 based
on 2005 levels. Furthermore, the Australian government's approach to international
negotiations undermines the process.

The trade unions however are committed to the fight against climate change. In their
own words: “Australian unions are committed to driving the shift to a low carbon
economy by representing the interests of workers in carbon-intensive, trade-exposed
industries, and supporting job growth and industry viability through private and public
sector investment”.

Campaigns carried out by the unions aim to bring together job creation and emission
reductions. These are particularly important as they counterbalance right-wing media
campaigns on dangers of low carbon economy to employment. Most of these media
campaigns look to subvert public opinion through extremely inaccurate information.
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

Emissions trends and national commitments

Australia has the highest per capita emissions intensity of any OECD member. It
emitted nearly 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person in 2010 and is second among 34
advanced nations in terms of greenhouse gas emission intensity per unit of GDPii.
Australia’s high emissions are mainly the result of high emissions intensity from energy
production and some energy-intensive industry (eg aluminium smelting), rather than
the high energy intensity of the broader economy or exceptionally high per capita
income.

Australia's offering to the international fight against greenhouse gas emissions does
not compensate for the significant problem created by their own contribution. Australia
has pledged to reduce its emissions by 26-28% by 2030 based on 2005 levels. The Climate
Change Authority, a body of independent advisors to the Australian
government, recommended that the country reduce its emissions by 40 to 60% by 2030iii.

Additionally, current policy projections are expected to lead to an emissions level of

597-623 MtCO2e excluding LULUCF by 2020 and around 720 MtCO2e by 2030. The
government will have to design new tools, therefore, to ensure it hits its target.

Australian government climate change positions are hardly supportive and cannot be
said to be tailored to the severity of the problem. There is a risk that these
commitments which the Conservative government has promoted since 2013 will not
even be met and recent trends are very disturbing. Current Australian Government
repealed most of the core instruments of the national climate policy and legislation
included in the previous Government’s Clean Energy Future package.

Due to these changes, improvements made between 2012 and 2013 have halted and
carbon emissions from power generators has increased. The share of the national
electricity grid being powered by brown coal – the cheapest and most carbon-intensive
type – seems to be rising.

Fair share

Australia's negative approach to tackling the global problem has already been
mentioned above. Even though its neighbours - the Pacific Islands - are among those
who will most be affected by the impending catastrophe, Australia is not offering
meaningful emission reductions, nor providing enough funds for adaptation and
compensation for damages.

According to the Climate Equity Pledge Scorecard, Australia’s fair share of this 2020
global mitigation requirement is 2.1%, which is 363 million tonnes. Australia’s 2020
unconditional mitigation pledge under the Kyoto second commitment period (158
tonnes) falls short of its fair share of the global effort by 205 million tonnes. In per-
capita terms, Australia’s fair share of the 2020 global mitigation requirement comes to
14.3 tonnes. Its reduction pledge, however, is only 6.2 tonnes per person, which falls
short of its fair share by 8.0 tonnes per person.
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

Emissions trends: the disproportionate share of electricity production to GHG

The table below summarises the direct green house gas emissions by sector.

Emissions from the electricity sector account for 35% of current emissions. The
agriculture and forestry sector is also a major contributor however - as explained below
- trends in both sectors have unfolded very differently.

Although emissions from agriculture and forestry are still high compared to the OECD
average, they have been steadily decreasing since the 1990s. This mainly reflects the
impacts of declining emissions from the clearing of forest cover and harvesting of
forests, and increased removals from afforestation/reforestation activities since 1990.

However, electricity trends show significant increases until 2009, when firstly the
financial crisis and then the carbon price pushed them down. The carbon price, which
covered 60% of the Australian economy and included power plants, put a price of $23
on every ton of carbon dioxide emittediv.
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

The energy mix: overcoming coal?

As shown above, coal is a major contributor to Australia’s emissions and, at 75%,

makes up a high share of electricity production.

Alarmingly, this year this share seems to be increasing. The new government has
deregulated the sector, scrapped an additional resource rent tax on mining companies
and repealed the carbon tax. Emissions from power generators increased at an annual
rate of 4.2 million tonnes in the first part of 2015; an increase of 2.8 per cent compared
with June 2014v..

Australia's Renewable Energy Target (RET) is a Federal Government policy designed

to ensure that at least 20 per cent of Australia's electricity comes from renewable
sources by 2020. However, on June 23, Australia's parliament voted to reduce the
Renewable Energy Target for 2020 from 41 to 33 terawatt hours of renewable
electricityvi. This measure was also supported by the Labour party. A nationwide
campaign to demonise wind power was carried out just before this decision was due to
be taken. This campaign went so far as to compare risks of wind power with asbestos
and ridiculously overestimated its cost.

In addition to renewables, the gas sector is expected to grow and its integration into the
electrical mix should bring a significant reduction in emissions compared to coal. The
most optimistic analysis expects Australia’s output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to rise
by 250 per cent by 2017–18vii, mostly for export.

Investment in gas should be seen only as a medium term transition to reach the goal of
zero net emissions. Additionally, the trade unions demand that Australia must adopt a
regulatory approach that ensures Australia’s domestic gas prices are not completely
exposed to a distorted global market. This policy would aim to reserve up to 20% of
Australia’s gas for domestic use, for domestic manufacturing, and should serve to
protect the cost of living for ordinary Australians.

The transformation of the electricity sector has to be at the centre of Australia‘s

transition to a low-emission society and is the lowest-cost path to reducing emissions in
the transport, industrial and household sectors.
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

Industrial transformation and changing the productive model

China's growth and its demand for Australian products has helped economic growth in
recent years. Australian exports to China have grown from 8.5% of the total in 2003-
04 to 32.5% in 2013-14 – and they continue to growviii.

The economic system must address the significant challenge of moving away from the
extractive model, and must look for economic progress beyond mining. However for
now, how to transition from mining-led growth to a broader economy is not clear.
Australia faces serious challenges in order to deliver a more diversified economy, more
equality and secure jobs so that prosperity is maintained and shared in future decades
beyond the mining-boomix.

Like many developed countries, the Australian manufacturing base has been eroded in
recent decades, both in terms of output and employment. A more supportive policy for
innovative manufacturing is necessary. Investment in new industries is critical, and not
only supporting existing ones. A stronger tax burden on the mining sector would
generate the necessary resources for green industry policies.

This is the chosen path for Australian unions, as discussed in the next chapter, who are
calling for investment in new types of manufacturing and high technology service
industries. Their proposals include: a comprehensive national residential retrofitting
program to reduce pollution and household bills; a commercial building and industrial
energy efficiency strategy; the rapid expansion of low pollution intensive energy
infrastructure with incentives such as an expanded renewable energy target; targeted
regional investment and industry planning; more investment in a cleaner vehicle fleet –
including expansion of hybrid and electric cars; a federally led clean energy transport
infrastructure plan; and a national land sector initiative – to reduce pollution arising
from land use and build climate change resilience in Australian ecosystems through
improved land management practicesx.

Unions largely argue that ambitious action on climate change will lead to significant
overall job creation in a number of sectors, above all where carbon pricing is combined
with activist government investment and industry policy. Both unions and employer
groups agree to a large extent, however, that negative employment effects can be
anticipated in the absence of substantial government investment and industry
assistance. xi The recently launched Australian Climate Roundtable, shows clear
agreement from both unions and employers’ sides on the need for significant industrial
transformation through climate policies. This unanimous call seeks to shift debate
towards a stronger and bipartisan climate policy, though this is unlikely before the Paris
conference.

The government economic agenda though seeks to maintain the economic structure as
it is, strengthening the influence of extractive industries and giving little space or no
space for a transformative path. It has, for example, repealed a special mining sector
resource rent tax. This sector presents important policy challenges in terms of guiding
the exploitation of mineral and energy wealth to allow for a healthy rate of return and to
ensure a fair distribution of benefits. In addition, coping with the macroeconomic
consequences of the ebb and flow of commodity demand/prices will remain a challenge
for the foreseeable future.xii 35% of income growth came from resources over the last
few years but also 99% of drop in capital productivity. xiii

The government is focusing on addressing the structural budget deficit through

deregulation and structural reformxiv. One of the primary objectives of the government
is to drastically reduce regulation, under the so-called "red tape and green tape" cuts.
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

Under the pretext of simplifying procedures these reforms can harm social and
environmental conditions in the medium term.

The transformation of the industries will have to bring on board labour issues. Attention
to jobs is key in a country where anti-climate groups have spread a strong job-killer
message. Unemployment rose to 6.3% in January 2015, which is the highest rate in 13
years and well above the financial-crisis peakxv. Quality of jobs has to improve too,
Australia’s below-average score in the Work and Life Balance indicator is mainly driven
by a labour-force-survey statistic showing that a comparatively high proportion of
employees work more than 50 hours per weekxvi.

The Australian unions are committed to the fight against climate change

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the peak trade union body in Australia and it
is very much engaged in climate action. It recognises the problem of climate change as
one of the most important economic, social and environmental challenges the world
and particularly Australia currently faces, and it has developed climate change
campaigns aimed at reducing pollution, improving energy efficiency and supporting the
transition to a low carbon economy in Australia. This campaign seeks to link climate
action and job creation.

As Australia is one of the highest per capita emitters of pollution in the world, the ACTU
supported the former Government’s Clean Energy Future Package under this
campaign. It included a range of measures such as introducing a price on carbon
pollution to foster the shift to a low carbon economy in Australia, and thus helping to
develop renewable energy and clean energy technologies. Even the mining union
inside the national centre supported this global policy. ACTU's demands for the
government include compensation packages for low and middle income households'
energy costs.

ACTU’s unions are seeking a sustainable industry policy that ensures all jobs are
protected; especially those in manufacturing and export industries. It also looks to
create new ones through investment in renewable energy sources. In fact, they lobbied
and achieved the allocation of more than $9 billion of industry assistance over three
years to help industries such as steel, aluminium and cement manufacturing tied to
investments in renewable and low carbon technologies.

The ACTU called upon the government to continue driving polices that push investment
towards new and cleaner technologies and new industries, such as the $300 million
programme to encourage investment and innovation in the steel industry, the coal plan
of $1.2 billion to help reduce emissions and develop new technologies and the $1.2
billion Clean Technology Program.

Research commissioned by the ACTU alongside the Australian Conservation

Foundation (ACF) in 2010 resulted in a another report entitled “Creating Jobs – Cutting
Pollution: The Roadmap for a Cleaner, Stronger Economy” that showcased Australia’s
potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs – exact estimates were for 770,000
jobs– across the country in the transition to a low carbon economy if the right policies
were adopted. This is not only green jobs, but also new jobs in traditional industries
such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing and the services sector. A new report is on
its way and will be launched in November.
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

Source: Creating Jobs – Cutting Pollution. ACTU.

ACTU promotes environment and climate action through collective agreements. And
the figures show they are, slowly, making a difference. A collective agreement has
double the chance to include environmental clauses if it is signed by a union. Those
collective agreements not signed by unions integrate environmental clauses in a much
lower extentxvii.

Just recently unions, employers, investors and NGOs have launched the Australian
Climateround Table to warn that emissions reductions on the necessary scale towards
zero net emissions would require "substantial change "and present "significant
challenges" and to demand comprehensive and sustainable climate policies that:

- are capable of achieving deep reductions in Australia's net emissions;

- provide confidence that targeted emissions reductions actually occur;

- are based on the full range of climate risks;

- are well designed, stable and internationally linked;

- operate at least cost to the domestic economy; and

- remain efficient as circumstances change and Australia's emissions reduction Eliminado: ¶

goals evolve. Con formato
viñetas
Highlighting the social risks of climate policy and climate change, the Roundtable said Eliminado: ¶
climate policy must also:
Con formato
Sangría france
protect the most vulnerable individuals; Con viñetas +
avoid disproportionate impacts on low-income households; and Alineación: 0,
Tabulación de
assist communities that are vulnerable to economic shocks or physical risks as a + Sangría: 1,
result of climate change or climate policy.
Eliminado: ¶
Eliminado: ¶

Some proposals for further action Con formato

Sangría: Sang
1,27 cm, Con
- Lobbying opportunities for emissions reduction in concrete sectors, will grow with the + Alineación:
information provided by the new clean energy jobs report. Unions are lobbying for Tabulación de
reduction in emissions of 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. + Sangría: 1,
control de líne
huérfanas, Div
- It would be important to seek sustainability of the recent launched Australian Climate ajustar espacio
Roundtable and promote it as a permanent forum for information sharing. This could latino y asiátic
0,39 cm, Izqu
Izquierda
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

be a good multistakehoder body to seek support for ambitious climate policies and
monitor their economic and employment impacts.

- There could be room for better use of union tools, ensuring that workplaces reduce
their environmental footprint with concrete union plans and workplace campaigns. A
number of government organisations, unions and companies in transportation and
energy have adopted measurable emissions targets and in some cases publish
progress on these targets. Compile and use those experiences for a multiplying effect.

- Keep on highlighting the possibilities of collective agreement for climate change /

environmental clauses. In 2012, 7.6 per cent of all union agreements had Con formato
environmental clauses, but no many focused on climate. Despite strong current 11 pt, Fuente
compleja: 11 p
employer opposition to this type of clauses is high, calling for climate clauses in
collective agreements could be a nice internal campaign. Skills for a low carbon Con formato
11 pt, Fuente
economy could be part of it. compleja: 11 p
Eliminado: D
- There already exist environment reps in the Education and other sectors that could
serve as a model for others. Con formato
11 pt, Fuente
compleja: 11 p
- Training to members, organizers and union reps on climate change could be
Con formato
strengthened. Include climate change related issues in the organizers training modules, 11 pt, Fuente
an opportunity to attract workers to the union that can be not so sensible for traditional compleja: 11 p
union issues, but more sensible to climate ones. Eliminado: ly
Eliminado: fo
- A national target on clean energy jobs creation as a follow up to the upcoming report
Con formato
could be a good campaign. 11 pt, Fuente
compleja: 11 p
Con formato
11 pt, Fuente
compleja: 11 p
Eliminado: th

i Con formato
OECD, 2014 Society at a Glance 2014 Highlights: AUSTRALIA OECD Social 11 pt, Fuente
Indicatorshttp://www.oecd.org/australia/OECD-SocietyAtaGlance2014-Highlights-Australia.pdf compleja: 11 p
ii
OECD 2013, Environment at a glance http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-
Management/oecd/environment/environment-at-a-glance-2013_9789264185715-en#page45
iii
http://www.climatechangeauthority.gov.au/reviews/targets-and-progress-review/part-c/chapter-
9-australia%E2%80%99s-2020-and-2030-goals
iv
v
The Sydney Morning Herald , 13 April 2015 http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-
analysis/coal-makes-a-comeback-thanks-to-carbon-price-repeal-emissions-rise-20150413-1mifs6.html
vi
Business Spectatorhttp://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/6/23/climate/renewable-
energy-target-slashed
vii
Deloitte, 2013. Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next wave,
viii
Australian Department of Foreign Affaires
ix
ACTU http://www.actu.org.au/actu-media/media-releases/2012/economic-forum-must-look-to-
build-and-better-share-australia-s-prosperity-beyond-the-mining-boom
x
Creating jobs, cutting pollution. ACTU 2010.
http://www.actu.org.au/media/137320/ACF_Jobs_report_190510.pdf
xi
Centre for Workforce Futures, 2014, Climate change and the Australian
Workplace
xii
OECD 2014. Economic Survey Australia
xiii
McKinsey, 2012. Beyond the Boom. Australia productivity imperative
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/asia-pacific/australia_productivity_imperative
xiv
OECD 2014. Economic Survey Australia
xv
Australian Bureau of Statistics
xvi
OECD 2014. Economic Survey Australia
 Australia. Context and considerations for a Unions4Climate campaign

xvii
Centre for Workforce Futures, 2014, Climate change and the Australian Workplace