Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet and Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson today announced a $1.3 billion Coal Sector Jobs Package to support jobs in the Australian coal industry during the move to a clean energy future.
The Prime Minister said the impact of a $23 a tonne carbon price on the industry will be low - around $1.80 per tonne of coal produced for coal mine fugitive greenhouse gas emissions.
However, a small number of gassy mines will face significant cost pressures as a carbon price is introduced.
The Government's Coal Sector Jobs Package will assist the operators of these mines to support jobs and local communities, some of which rely heavily on coal mining employment.
The Coal Sector Jobs Package will provide financial assistance over six years to Australia's most pollution-intensive coal mines and assist them to reduce their pollution.
The $1.264 billion assistance package will be designed to reward those coal mines that reduce their emissions, based on their historical emissions intensity.
This means that if a mine operator takes steps to reduce carbon pollution it will be able to decrease its liability under the carbon price and pocket the assistance.
The Government also announced today the details of a $70 million Coal Mining Abatement Technology Support Package to assist coal mines in developing and deploying new technologies to reduce their carbon pollution.
The long term viability of the coal mining sector depends on innovation and the deployment of new technologies and the Coal Abatement Technology Support Package will provide additional support to the advances that will ensure coal mining will play a valuable part in our clean energy future.
Funding will be provided through grants on a co-contribution basis.
Both the Coal Sector Jobs Package and the Coal Mining Abatement
Technology Support Package will be administered by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.
Further information in relation to the Government's clean energy future and carbon price announcement is available at www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au