According to a recent report from consultancy firm Energetics, the stipulations of Australia’s proposed National Energy Guarantee (NEG) could have a disproportionate effect on Western Australia (WA). The Australian Government’s stated plan for the NEG is to reduce emissions by 26%, compared to 2005 levels, by 2030 and focuses on the east-coast based National Electricity Market (NEM). This reduction represents a “business-as-usual” scenario for the NEM, while WA could be forced to contribute up to one-third of the emissions reductions required, despite having only 11% of the country’s population.
The scale of these reductions is significant and is considered by Energetics to be unfeasible given the timeframe, with the company predicting that WA entities with a compliance responsibility under the existing Safeguard Mechanism may be forced to purchase emissions offsets to the cost of $4 billion. You can read the full article HERE.