BRISBANE—Marius Kloppers, the chief executive of mining giant BHP Billiton, has called for a price on carbon.
Speaking at the Australian British Chamber of Commerce in Sydney on Sept. 15, Mr Kloppers made it clear that the Australian Government and the business community needed to be proactive about carbon emissions or be left behind, the ABC reported.
“The world is going through a process of rapid change, and it is only by anticipating and responding to this change, rather than resisting, that Australian businesses and the country as a whole can succeed,” he said.
Behavior would have to change he said and the best way to achieve that was to hit people’s pockets.
“In short, carbon emissions need to have a cost impact in order to cause the consumer to change behavior and favor low carbon alternatives,” he said.
Mr Kloppers noted that Australia’s energy supplies were carbon intensive, saying that 90 per cent of the country’s electricity was produced from the coal industry, The Australian reported.
“Reducing Australia’s carbon emissions footprint will require substantial changes in consumer behavior,” Mr Kloppers said.
While Mr Kloppers was upbeat about the need for a carbon price, he did not favor the money raised going towards renewables or “winning” technologies.
“Instead of treating this income as windfall revenue, the Government must find mechanisms to return this revenue to the economy—individuals and businesses—and let the markets work,” he added.
“I think that a price on carbon can only be effective if it is operated in a revenue neutral manner by a government.”
Speaking at the Australian British Chamber of Commerce in Sydney on Sept. 15, Mr Kloppers made it clear that the Australian Government and the business community needed to be proactive about carbon emissions or be left behind, the ABC reported.
“The world is going through a process of rapid change, and it is only by anticipating and responding to this change, rather than resisting, that Australian businesses and the country as a whole can succeed,” he said.
Behavior would have to change he said and the best way to achieve that was to hit people’s pockets.
“In short, carbon emissions need to have a cost impact in order to cause the consumer to change behavior and favor low carbon alternatives,” he said.
Mr Kloppers noted that Australia’s energy supplies were carbon intensive, saying that 90 per cent of the country’s electricity was produced from the coal industry, The Australian reported.
“Reducing Australia’s carbon emissions footprint will require substantial changes in consumer behavior,” Mr Kloppers said.
While Mr Kloppers was upbeat about the need for a carbon price, he did not favor the money raised going towards renewables or “winning” technologies.
“Instead of treating this income as windfall revenue, the Government must find mechanisms to return this revenue to the economy—individuals and businesses—and let the markets work,” he added.
“I think that a price on carbon can only be effective if it is operated in a revenue neutral manner by a government.”
