Australia to Release Carbon Targets on Dec. 15, Wong Says

By Gemma Daley

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Australia will release its medium- term targets for carbon emissions on Dec. 15, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said.

The government will release a so-called White Paper in Canberra on the design of its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and medium-term targets, Wong said in an e-mailed statement. Laws on the system will be released in early 2009, she said.

“The global financial situation has heightened the importance of providing business certainty on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme,” Wong said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who ratified the Kyoto Treaty on his first day in office last November, plans to introduce a cap- and-trade system as part of meeting the government’s 2050 target.

The government plans to issue free permits or give a one- off cash bonus to some coal-fired power generators to compensate them for the added expense of introducing a cost on carbon. It will boost welfare payments and cut taxes to help households, especially those on low incomes, cope with the system.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gemma Daley in Canberra at gdaley@bloomberg.net