Clock is ticking

Another day, another survey on the public’s position on climate change.

The latest one is from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has this morning released a study showing 71% consumers believe the Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will lead to higher electricity prices, and 49% believe there will be job losses if Australia moves to introduce an emission trading scheme before the rest of the world.

The survey also found that 54% of consumers believe the Government should delay the introduction of the CPRS until after the global climate change meeting to be held in Copenhagen next month.

“The latest Galaxy Research Survey should lead our federal parliamentarians to not rush ahead unilaterally with a CPRS this week, and instead move globally in concert with other nations,” ACCI chief Peter Anderson said in a statement this morning.

He also pointed to an earlier ACCI survey, which found 47.6% of businesses said the CPRS would have a “negative impact” on business.

ACCI clearly has some big concerns about the introduction of an emissions trading scheme and particularly its impact on small businesses, who are unlikely to receive too much in the way of compensation for increases costs, particularly through higher energy prices.

The chamber’s concerns are very valid, and we certainly wouldn’t like to see SMEs hit too hard.

But I’m not so sure that entrepreneurs would necessarily agree with the ACCI’s calls to delay action on an emissions trading scheme until after the Copenhagen meeting.

It’s almost universally acknowledged that the big Copenhagen meeting will be a dud and there certainly won’t be any rock solid global treaty agreed to by world leaders.

So if we do delay the introduction of a scheme until Prime Minister Kevin Rudd returns from Copenhagen, only to find that no deal gets done, where does that leave us? Do we delay the CPRS indefinitely?

I think the attitude of many of the entrepreneurs who I talk to are a bit more complex than the ACCI might be making out.

Yes, SMEs acknowledge that the emissions trading scheme will involve a bit of pain in terms of higher energy costs and yes, they are likely to have a good old-fashioned whinge when the scheme comes into force.

But many of the entrepreneurs I’ve met in the last few years – Wotif founder Graeme Wood and Villa & Hut founder Franz Madlener are two prime examples – are extremely concerned about environmental issues and are keen to see action.

And it’s not just the big boys. Many of the entrants to the Crown Lager SmartCompany Business Start Up awards talked about the importance of sustainable business practices, and a number had been specifically set up around the reducing carbon pollution, including a taxi service that only uses hybrid vehicles, a recycling business based around a brilliant new invention and a service that lets drivers borrow cars for a few hours at a time.

I’d love to know your thoughts. Is it time to move on climate change, or should we hold off until the rest of the world moves?

Comment below and share your views with our community.