Business Lounge | UNSW Business School
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Climate change is one of the greatest moral challenges of our time, yet our current politics has failed to deliver any meaningful policy response. Whilst some of this is the product of a lack of political leadership, there are also legitimate concerns about what effective action on climate would mean for the economic well-being of low-income Australians, their access to affordable transport and energy, and the competitiveness of Australian industry.
Professors Richard Holden and Rosalind Dixon propose a new solution to bridge the current left-right divide on climate policy – a carbon dividend approach. The ‘Australian Climate Dividend Plan’ combines a universal carbon tax of $20-50 per ton for all carbon emissions in Australia, with a commitment to rebating the proceeds directly to all adult Australian citizens. Modelled on similar proposals developed in the US by the Climate Leadership Council, the proposal aims simultaneously to provide strong market-based incentives to reduce our carbon emissions, and decrease rather than increase economic inequality. The proposal is at once conservative and progressive and provides a workable solution that will appeal to all sides of the political spectrum.
We invite you to join Dr Kerryn Phelps AM MP to launch the Australian Climate Dividend Plan at UNSW Sydney on 21 November.
Proceedings will begin promptly at 6pm. Please join us for light refreshments after the speeches.
Rosalind Dixon is a Professor of Law and Director of the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at UNSW Sydney. She is a graduate of UNSW and Harvard, and has taught at law schools around the world – including Harvard, Columbia, University of Chicago and National University Singapore, and is the author of a new book, with Richard Holden, From Free to Fair Markets: Liberalism after COVID out later this year. She is passionate about law and politics, and currently Director of the Pathways to Politics for Women Program at NSW.
Richard Holden is Professor of Economics in the UNSW Business School. Professor Holden received a PhD from Harvard University and was a faculty member at MIT and the University of Chicago before returning to Australia. He has been published in leading economics journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review and Review of Economic Studies. His popular writings have appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, New Republic, American Affairs, Australian Financial Review, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Conversation. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society, and of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.
Dr Kerryn Phelps AM MP was Elected to the House of Representatives for Wentworth, New South Wales at the recent 2018 by-election. Kerryn is a doctor, businesswoman, health communicator, public health and civil rights advocate, author and media commentator.
Dr Phelps founded and operated several multidisciplinary medical practices. Her own clinical practice involves finding solutions to complex health problems. For 30 years she has used her communication skills to elevate health literacy as a pioneer in health media across multiple media platforms. As the first female President of the Australian Medical Association, Kerryn was able to influence health policy at State and Federal level.
