Climate change madness isn’t just killing the environment and your wallet.
It’s created a behemoth bureaucracy that doesn’t even know what its own purpose is.
It would appear these bureaucrats are baffled by their own bs.
Environment and Communications Legislation Committee – 23/10/2023
Estimates – CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER PORTFOLIO – Climate Change Authority
Senator RENNICK: I’ve discussed with the CSIRO previously how they calculate net zero and they’ve informed me that there are actually 40 different models for determining how you get to net zero. Do you guys discuss with the CSIRO and other related organisations which one of those 40 models you will use here in Australia and other countries will use so that there’s no regulatory arbitrage in calculating how to get to net zero?
Mr Archer: Thank you for the question, Senator. I must admit I am struggling to understand it a little bit. I’m not conscious of the figure that you’ve mentioned that there of 40 different models for net zero. There are certainly different models for modelling the whole-of-economy impacts of responding to climate change. I wasn’t aware that there were 40. That might be a number, but, from my point of view, the models all tend to be a little bit different. They can all provide insights that are important for analysis, but they don’t provide the answers; they are a tool. We went through a process to select a CSIRO—
Senator RENNICK: With that in mind, how do you go about measuring the amount of CO2 that’s emitted by Australian organisations? If you’re not modelling it—and that’s good, because I believe in measuring rather than modelling—how do you measure the way CO2 is reduced in Australia? How accurate is that? What’s your margin of error on that measurement?
Mr Archer: We don’t do our own estimates of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. We use the official government estimates, which are prepared in the department.
Senator RENNICK: The environment or the energy department?
Mr Archer: The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Senator RENNICK: Aren’t you the Climate Change Authority?
Mr Archer: That’s correct.
Senator RENNICK: But you don’t fit within the department of climate change?
Mr Archer: We’re a separate Commonwealth non-corporate entity.
Senator RENNICK: Okay. That’s fine. I get confused with all these different departments. There are so many of them. Do you track how much Australian organisations, companies, NGOs or whatever else pay for carbon offsets earned offshore and how much Australian money goes offshore in earning those carbon offsets?
Mr Archer: No, we don’t.
Senator RENNICK: You don’t? Which department does that?
Mr Archer: I think that would possibly be a question for the department, but I’m not aware that the department is doing that specifically.
Senator RENNICK: It’s says here that you undertake reviews and make recommendations on the national greenhouse and energy reporting system, including the Safeguard Mechanism?
Mr Archer: Yes, that is correct.
Senator RENNICK: Aren’t carbon offsets a part of that?
Senator McAllister: Senator Rennick, respectfully, the Safeguard Mechanism is not administered by the Climate Change Authority. The design characteristics are done by the department and elements of it are managed by the Clean Energy Regulator. International offsets are not available under the safeguard arrangements, so this question about international offsets being purchased for compliance with the safeguard requirements isn’t a relevant question.
Senator RENNICK: It’s just that the website said that’s what you do; you make recommendations on the Safeguard Mechanism.
