MEDIA RELEASE – Australian Carbon Costs to be Below Forecast

Posted on: 05.07.2012

Business and Consumers Win as Australian Carbon Costs Slashed

- Treasury modelling ‘unrealistic’, says carbon analytics firm

MELBOURNE – JuLY 5, 2012. A new study released today by carbon analytics firm RepuTex, indicates that companies liable under the Australian carbon price mechanism will pay up to 45% less than initially expected, with cost savings totalling over $10bn translating into significantly reduced carbon price impacts for Australian consumers and regional commodities buyers.

RepuTex research analyses Australian carbon costs across the Energy, Metals & Mining, Power and Materials industries, comparing the impact of a high carbon price initially modelled by Treasury, versus RepuTex’s more moderate carbon price estimates.

“Treasury has historically modelled a carbon price of upwards of $40, but this scenario is unrealistic in the face of low carbon offset prices in Asian markets. We anticipate the Australian market will hit a more moderate $8-15 level as we move towards 2020, well below Treasury estimates.”

According to RepuTex, this lower carbon price will lead to significantly reduced carbon costs for Australian businesses, and significant savings for Australian consumers.

“Applying a more realistic carbon price we begin to see considerable savings for Australian businesses, with carbon costs to be on average 41% lower across the board.”

“This is good news for Australian business, particularly those in competitively constrained export industries such as Coal and LNG, yet the real winners will be Australian consumers, as lower liabilities for companies mean that product prices will rise by far less than predicted”, said Mr Grossman.

Once industry compensation and cost pass-through to consumers are taken into account, RepuTex forecasts the electricity sector will face a carbon bill 39% lower than Treasury forecasts. Other big winners include oil and gas producers, who face 45% lower costs, metals manufacturers and miners 40% lower, and materials manufacturers (including fertiliser and cement) 43% lower.

“This is a significant win for Australian consumers, and for regional commodities buyers”, said Mr Grossman.

RepuTex’s carbon price forecast considers downward pressure on European carbon prices beyond 2012, along with low offset prices from key Asian markets such as China.

“The international market for offset permits has dropped in recent years, with an oversupply of permits from developing countries coupled with low levels of demand, as economic activity in Europe has remained subdued”, Mr. Grossman continued.

“In Australia we forecast that the commencement of schemes in regional markets such as South Korea and China will bring increased demand for carbon offsets, so prices are unlikely to bottom out, however it would take a dramatic policy intervention for the market to reach Treasury’s previously announced levels.”

While the news will be welcome to Australian business and regional consumers, RepuTex warns that prices won’t stay low forever.

“Ultimately the future of the Australian carbon market rests in Asia, not Europe, and Asian policy is shooting ahead in major markets such as South Korea and China, so we do expect the Australian carbon price will eventually move north, but not for some time.”

Appendix

Click Table For More Detail. Source: RepuTex Carbon Analytics
All Costs are in $’000,000 and are cumulative (FY2013-FY2020)
Cost pass through rates assume a medium pass through scenario determined by RepuTex

Media Enquiries
Adam Ford, Associate Director – Marketing
RepuTex Australia
Ph. (03) 9654 7099 | mob. 0425 320 533
Adam.ford@reputex.com

About RepuTex

RepuTex is Asia-Pacific’s foremost source of carbon market intelligence and a leader in the pricing of firm-level carbon liabilities.

The company supplies corporate, trading and capital markets firms with carbon market benchmarks and price information to assist customers make sound trading, reporting and business decisions.

RepuTex has offices in Melbourne and Hong Kong and has 15 analysts globally with backgrounds in energy, commodities, CDM and environmental markets.

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