INSTANT VIEW: Australia commits to July 2010 carbon trade start

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia on Monday committed to start the most sweeping carbon trade scheme outside Europe in mid-2010, as planned, despite business calls for a delay due to the global financial crisis.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong set a target range to cut Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by between 5 and 15 percent by 2020, based on year 2000 levels, to give Australia flexibility in global talks for emission cuts beyond 2012.

COMMENTARY:

GARY COX, HEAD OF ENVIRONMENTAL DERIVATIVES, NEWEDGE GROUP

"The document was much as expected -- you could say that the decision came down to a choice between the environment and the economy and at this stage it looks like the economy has won.

"The regrettable thing from what I've read of the white paper so far is that it hasn't suddenly cleared the way for sensible trading as there seems to me a number of issues still to resolve - the mere fact that they've come out with a 5-15 percent target range in the first decade creates some uncertainty."

DAMIEN LAWSON, CLIMATE COORDINATOR, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

AUSTRALIA

"The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, announced by the government, is a polluters paradise.

"The targets, if adopted globally, would not only kill the Great Barrier Reef and (Australia's) Murray Darling (river system) but would spell disaster for hundreds of millions of people."

BRETT JANISSEN, EXECUTIVE MANAGER, ASIA-PACIFIC EMISSIONS

TRADING FORUM

"I think it could be a little weak. Even though the rhetoric is there in terms of a A$25 carbon price, I just don't see they've put the mechanism or constraint in place to achieve that and so it is kind of the structure of an emissions trading scheme without the incentives.

"I think it could be a bit of damp squib in terms of the actual carbon price that this scheme will generate in the early years."

BELINDA ROBINSON, CEO, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND

EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION