With Australia’s federal election looming on the horizon in 2022, the Clean Energy Council has announced its Roadmap for a Renewable Energy Future: Federal Election Policy Recommendations.
With the goal of urging Australia’s political leaders to commit to meeting the nation’s domestic electricity demand with clean energy by 2030, the nine-point plan released today (8 February) consists of several key policy recommendations:
- Electrify Australia – power the Australian economy and industry with wind, solar, hydro, bioenergy and battery storage.
- Empower customers and communities to make the switch to clean energy.
- Build a strong, smart, 21st century electricity network.
- Maximise the creation of quality clean energy jobs and a local supply chain.
- Provide greater support and certainty for coal communities and industry as the phase-out of coal generation accelerates.
- Modernise Australia’s energy market and its governance for the clean energy transformation.
- Turbocharge clean energy innovation.
- Decarbonise Australian industries using clean energy.
- Put Australia on a path to becoming a global clean energy superpower that exports renewable energy to Asia and beyond.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton says Australia is at a crucial juncture where investment in the transition to clean energy should be significantly increased.
“Now is the time to exploit Australia’s natural advantages to bring down the cost of electricity for households and businesses, and position the country as the innate home of energy-intensive industries in the Asia Pacific,” he says.
“Clean energy can create thousands of new jobs, empower consumers, bring economic activity to regional communities, lower power prices and create the smart infrastructure of the future that can cement Australia’s place as a global clean energy superpower.
“More renewable energy investment is crucial for Australia to prepare for the inevitable exit of ageing coal generators during the coming decade.”
In recent years, Australia’s state and territory governments have been the primary drivers of policy relating to the transition to clean energy, however the Clean Energy Council argues the Federal Government needs a co-ordinated strategy to facilitate private investment in low-cost clean energy.
“Voters will back policy that promotes emissions reduction and, critically, the Australian business community supports an acceleration of Australia’s decarbonisation efforts,” says Thornton.
“The signals coming from the private sector indicate the Federal Government’s latest policy statements on net-zero emissions are not enough. They are looking at short-term 2030 targets to drive immediate investment.
News item provided courtesy of Ecogeneration - www.ecogeneration.com.au
