Essay by Eric Worrall
The review may consider carbon adjustment tariffs on imports from nations like the United States.
Labor considers capping carbon offsets for Australia’s biggest polluters
Ryan Cropp Energy and climate reporter
Aug 7, 2026 – 1.54pmThe Albanese government will consider capping the unlimited use of carbon offsets to encourage greater on-site emissions cuts by some of Australia’s biggest industrial facilities and meet ambitious near-term climate targets.
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The policy requires more than 200 big coal, gas, manufacturing and transport facilities to cut their emissions by around 5 per cent each year, or buy carbon credits to make up any shortfall.
Under existing rules, there are no limits on the number of carbon credits companies allowed to purchase to meet their mandated targets. In 2024-25, the top 10 purchasers of offsets in the scheme included six coal companies.
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“This review is focused on ensuring the Safeguard Mechanism continues to drive real, durable emissions reductions across Australia’s largest industrial facilities and contributes its fair share to achieving the nation’s emissions targets,” Bowen said.
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Read more: https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/labor-considers-capping-carbon-offsets-for-australia-s-biggest-polluters-20260807-p60mc6
Where do I get the border adjustment claim from? From the Aussie Government Carbon Leakage review, which concluded in 2025;
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The Review assessed the risk of carbon leakage and considered whether additional policies are needed.
The Review found existing policy measures mitigate leakage risks in the short to medium term.
The Review recommended that a border carbon adjustment be introduced for a select group of commodities that are at particular risk of carbon leakage from imports, with it initially covering cement and clinker, and to be considered for other commodities subject to further assessment.
The Review’s recommendations will be considered in the 2026-27 review of the Safeguard Mechanism.
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Read more: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/carbon-leakage-review
Carbon leakage refers to the flight of energy intensive industries when carbon taxes are imposed. A border carbon adjustment is an attempt to lure energy intensive industries into staying, by imposing a carbon tax on imports, so imports have no advantage over local products whose costs have been inflated by carbon taxes.
Border carbon adjustments don’t work, because most of the time it is still cheaper to produce goods in low cost jurisdictions and pay the border tax – as the EU discovered when China started outcompeting industry in Germany and other protected EU industrial regions, despite the EU’s tariff border.
Any attempt to raise border carbon adjustment taxes to the point they influence people’s behaviour would invite retaliation from trading partners, which in an export oriented economy like Australia would be an utter disaster. Ratcheting up Aussie carbon pricing will accelerate the decline of Aussie manufacturing, which will be even less able to compete with low cost energy intensive imports.
Strangely advocates of these tired economic ideas never ask why carbon taxes keep failing, why so much coercion is required to force people to embrace what greens claim is the cheapest form of energy, and why heavy industries consistently flee regions which introduce carbon taxes. But asking why despite a 100% track record of failure greens still believe carbon taxes are a good idea is like asking why some people still think communism is a good idea.
“Leftisnm”: blaming other’s sucesses for your own shortcomings, over and over and over again.
It’s a bit like “modern math”: 2+2= 22…believe it as much as you want it will never be true, period.
One definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
Applies here.
Carbon taxes are just another regressive tax .
Basically everything this disgusting Labor Government does is regressive.
Would it be unrealistic to start thinking that the current Aussie Labor government DESPISES the citizens, and derives glee in inflicting punishment on them in every ways possible, and at every opportunity?
(I have truly come to conclude that prime minister Albanese harbours a personal, deep-seated desire to “get even” with the Australian voters for rejecting his hoped-for “legacy” achievement of instituting a new constitutional arm of parliament with his “Indigenous Voice” proposition. )
or buy carbon credits
You could put that as: or else. As colonies go Australia is a big disappointment ; )
as most as bad as the “Mother Country”?
(but catching up fast 🙁 )
Buy carbon credits, put the price up to cover those costs and continue to NOT decrease CO2 emissions.
Blame greedy capitalists for the increase in prices.
What’s not to like for our communistic government?
Good plan, BOBowen
I’m set for life on the carbon indulgences front – I bought $1,000,000,000 worth of carbon credits which cost me $0.
I can’t remember where the website is, but you tell it how many you want, and it prints a certificate and issues an invoice for $0.
I may sell them to some dipstick woke company for a profit.
It’s an intelligence test that ecos systematically fail.
“Strangely[,] advocates of these tired economic ideas never ask why carbon taxes keep failing”
That’s because they don’t care. You don’t understand their globalist goals.
So true.
Globalists vest no honest interest or concerns at all for the well-being or prosperity for the citizens of any nations.
Particularly the African, Atlantic Sub Tropical or Indo / Pacific Island nations’ citizens.
Harold The Organic Chemist Says:
For an Australia temperature check, I went to:
https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/countries/australia/average-temperature-by-year. The Thi and Tlo data from 1901 to 2024 are displayed in a table. Here is a summary of the temperature data for these to dates:
Year——-Thi——–Tlo——-Tav Temperatures are ° C
2024——29.7——-15.9——22.8
1901——-28.6——-14.5——21.6
Change–+1.1——-+1.4——+1.2
Range Thi: 27.5-30.1
Range Tlo: 13.8-15.9
CO2 Concentration Data:
2024: 424 ppmv (0.83 g CO2/cu. m. of air)
1901: 300 ppmv (0.59 g CO2/cu. m. of air)
After 123 years, there has been only a slight warming of the air in Australia which is within the range of the natural variation of Thi. The concentration of CO2 in the air is so low that it can not cause any warming of the air.
The challenge is: How do inform Premier Anthony A. and the Canberra Climate Cartel that CO2 has no effect on air temperature and that they should abandon their draconian climate action plan and the goal of Net Zero by 2050.
Net Zero is not possible because everyday the humans of Australia exhale 28 million kgs of CO2. To this should be added all the CO2 exhaled by 69 million sheep, 30 million cattle, and 1 million camels. There are additional CO2 emission form baking and brewing.
CO2 exhaled by living things is neutral.
Unless they are human beeings.
Anthorpogenic, don’tcha know.
Of course, you are right, but the politicians are unaware of this. I forgot mention that the reason there is so little CO2 in the air is that most of it is absorbed by the oceans and land fresh water.
Factoid: Everyday humans exhale ca. 8 billion kgs of CO2.
They aren’t unaware. They don’t care. You don’t understand their goals.
The politicians are not scientists and have little or no knowledge of science and technology. Their goal is always getting reelected enough times to qualify for a generous pension.
Sorry Harold, you’re only seeing the small picture.
What is the big picture?
So why are they trying so hard to eliminate us?
They’ve spelled it out many times. They want fewer humans, and they want global control. Successful Western democracies foil that plan. So they’ve been working for decades to undermine those governments.
How do{to} inform . . . Well, simply put — you can’t.
May I suggest that informing the Premier, or anyone else is not an appropriate way of thinking about this issue. All the studies, reports, and data are available. I assume they can read as well as you. The only thing keeping them from believing what you want them to believe is that they already believe something else.
I and others have likened this rigid mind condition to what must have been the case with those pursuing witches in the mid-1400s to the early 1700s. There were objections. The most famous, perhaps, was from fourteen prestigious Catalan jurists in defense of a woman arrested in 1619 (Caterina Freixa). Yet, the trials and executions continued for over one hundred years and sporadically thereafter.
In the Wikipedia entry for “Witch trials in the early modern period” there is a gray-scale drawing titled “The burning of a French midwife in a cage filled with black cats” [the victim was Louisa Mabree].
I can no more understand the mindset of the accusers and executioners of witches than I can of those carrying the CO2 as demon virus.
Rationality and ideology cannot function in the same mind space at the same time.
Hand it to politicians. By taxing atmospheric carbon dioxide they have literally found a way to make money by Taxing the Very Air We Breathe!
When has giving more money to the government to spend stupidly ever “fixed” global warming? Or anything?
How, exactly, do politicians think it will “fix” global warming? Tell us the predicted cooling in degrees Celsius.
There was an article on my internet feed today in which a reporter interviewed people-on-the-street in New York City and asked their views on communism. All the people interviewed (that he chose to include in the story) stated they would like to see more communism.
They voted in Mamdani, how’s that working out for them?
“that he chose to include in the story”
That’s the key.
Crappy government, it is a real problem.
Chris Bowen wins clown-of-the-year award for third time.
Money money money!!
Let’s examine this ‘carbon footprint’ claim. CO2 is currently around 430 parts per million, increased, they tell us, from 280 ppm in 1850 (estimated). That’s a difference of 150 ppm, or in terms more readily understood by the layman, the composition of the atmosphere has changed by 0.015% (15 thousandths of 1%) in the last 175 years. LESS THAN 1 THOUSANDTH OF 1% PER DECADE! That’s it. That’s the TOTAL ‘carbon footprint’ for the entire planet, and human activity is only responsible for a small part of that increase. This measurement is averaged annually from much higher and lower daily figures. All the development that has occurred in this timeframe, everything we have built, all industry and every drop of fuel burned is included in that calculation. Furthermore, every life form on this planet; on the land, in the sea and in the air is composed of carbon compounds that were once in the air as CO2, and every living thing that has come and gone in those 175 years is incorporated in a figure that doesn’t fall outside of a reasonable margin of error. Our annual emissions equate to no more than an extra CO2 molecule per plant leaf on the planet. The claim that it is only our “emissions” that remain in the air and accumulate year on year, nature cannot cope with our contribution or that the carbon cycle was somehow magically in perfect equilibrium every year before we started to burn coal, gas and oil is a complete fairy tale designed to fool the gullible. There is no ‘climate crisis’. THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR CARBON TAXES!!
Canada has carbon taxes to control the weather. It has made the weather much colder over the past decades in which it has been in effect. /s