A Reduction in Emissions

ANAO Report No.11 2014–15 The Award of Grants under the Clean Technology Program 102

4.28 In addition, grant funds per tonne of carbon abated was considered in comparison

to similar emissions reduction measures and with reference to the carbon price. Following the then Government’s decision to bring forward the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in July 2013, the department advised the CTIC that the:  reference point for value for money had changed from 23 to 6 per tonne;  assessment of value for money needed to be ‘tougher’; and  approval ratings were expected to go down significantly.

4.29 This advice prompted a committee member to identify that the changes to

the assessment, in terms of value for money, would mean that certain types of emissions reduction measures would not be able to achieve a grant dollars per tonne of carbon abated that was acceptable under the programs. This was not, however, communicated to prospective applicants. Relative weightings of indicators

4.30 As the department did not establish clear benchmarks in regard to the reduction

in emissions intensity or the grant funds per tonne of carbon abated, ANAO examined the extent to which the scoring framework reflected:  the published performance indicator of a reduction of five per cent in carbon emissions intensity; and  applications seeking grant funds per tonne of carbon abated being more likely to receive funding if closer to the carbon price of 23. 118

4.31 Table 4.4 shows that the nominated weightings of 60 per cent on indicator

one and 40 per cent on indicator two were not consistently applied through the scoring methodology. 118 Grant funding per tonne of carbon abated of 23 was selected as it was the carbon price from the commencement of the programs. The reference point for grant funding per tonne of carbon abated did, however, fall to 6 following the then Government’s decision to bring forward the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in July 2013. 4.28    4.29 Relative weightings of indicators 4.30   4.31 ANAO Report No.11 2014–15 The Award of Grants under the Clean Technology Program