The building industry challenge in tackling carbon pollution
06-11-2008
The blow of tackling climate change must be softened by ensuring that appropriate compensation and tax concessions are in place to bring Australian buildings up to green standards, the MBA said.
In response to the release of the government's Green Paper, Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, Mr Wilhelm Harnisch, the MBA Chief Executive, said that dealing with climate change in the building and construction industry was "extremely challenging for the sector.
"The introduction of climate change measures will not only require sweeping change throughout the building and construction industry supply chain, but will also require significant adjustments to be made by prospective home buyers, existing home and building owners and the broader community," Mr Harnisch said.
"We can no longer expect our current levels of water and energy consumption can continue unabated."
"Our houses and buildings need to be designed and constructed to ensure we address climate challenges."
In the residential sector, moving towards carbon neutrality meant facing the cold hard reality that it would result in higher costs to every person in Australia. This would heighten the pressure on all levels of government to deal with land supply and housing affordability issues, he said.
"Building and retro-fitting houses and other commercial buildings to make them less carbon intensive will be expensive," Mr Harnisch said.
"Additionally, we face an ageing population that is increasingly asset rich and income poor, so any costs associated with retro-fitting of homes needs to be dealt with in terms of social equity."
The MBA will be asking the federal government to introduce tax concessions and/or rebates to lessen the burden these changes will put on households. For commercial buildings it will ask for accelerated depreciation.
"Policy to combat climate change will expose past neglect and put extreme pressure on governments to upgrade our urban infrastructure, to fix road congestion in our major cities, and to upgrade our inadequate and unreliable public transport," Mr Harnisch said.
"Climate change will force the government to focus on responsible economic management."
"Measures to address climate change cannot be successfully implemented in a weak economy, at a time of high inflation or in a hostile industrial relations environment."