Short-term political fixes pose threat to environment and future prosperity, scientists warn

Updated

Some of the nation's top scientists have warned short-term political fixes pose a threat to both the environment and the nation's future prosperity.

The first major report in more than a decade from the influential Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists suggests the Federal Government eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and provide tax breaks to landowners who work to protect threatened species and ecosystems.

"We're increasingly seeing the consequences of our current short-termism and the cost that will impose on this society in the future, because, in the long run, environmental degradation will come at an enormous cost," Wentworth Group director, Peter Cosier, said.

The report included contributions from former treasury secretary Ken Henry and Clean Energy Finance Corporation director Martijn Wilder.

The group said the Abbott Government's tentative steps towards reforming the tax system provided an opportunity to better protect the environment.

"Tax is an effective way [to protect the environment] because it's something you have to pay and it's a measure which governments use all the time to pull triggers in the economy," Mr Wilder said.

"There's an opportunity here to look at our tax system over the long-term to make it such that it has measures that are beneficial to the environment and the economy."

There's an opportunity here to look at our tax system over the long-term to make it such that it has measures that are beneficial to the environment and the economy. Martijn Wilder

The report recommends removing fossil fuel subsidies and instead paying farmers, indigenous communities and other landholders to restore and protect environmental assets.

"A farmer may take particular steps to look after and manage their land in a more sustainable fashion and by doing that they may be rewarded with some sort of tax concession," Mr Wilder said.

Professor Bruce Thom, a founding member of the group, said with climate change predicted to bring more extreme heat, bushfires, and damaging storms, smarter planning decisions need to be made now.

"We spend 10 times more on recovery after a disaster than we spend on mitigating their impacts," Professor Thom said.

He said he believed preparing communities for climate change has not been well coordinated to date between different tiers of government.

Professor Thom said recent discussions about tax and federalism should be expanded to include the management of the natural environment.

"The Federal Government is the driver of the economy and the states are the deliverers," he said.

"We feel that all three levels of government must be closely working together in better managing our natural capital for the long-term future."

The authors cite advice from the Productivity Commission, Treasury, and the Garnaut Review that an emissions trading scheme remains the most cost-effective way for Australia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A copy of the Wentworth Group's report will be sent to every state environment minister and every federal MP.

Topics: environmental-policy, environmental-impact, environmental-management, environment, australia

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