Last month a position paper of the coal based electricity generators opposed ratifying the Kyoto greenhouse gas agreement and carbon taxes.
Coal accounts for three quarters of electricity generation.
Each industry sector framed its policy position to bag its competitor. This has changed as the reality of Australia's energy trends has become understood. But Kyoto permits only an 8 per cent increase. The enormity of the required reduction has finally persuaded the coal generators that they would be all but doomed by a serious commitment to Kyoto. Realistically, the only way to meet the target is a considerable paring back of fossil fuel consumption.