Renewable Energy News

Australian companies are committing to corporate energy responsibility and 100 per cent renewables through the newly-launched Australian arm of RE100. The first Australian meeting of the global corporate leadership group on renewables was recently hosted in Sydney.

France and Germany, along with other European countries, have been increasing the share of renewable energy (RES) in their electricity mixes. In France, the share increased from 14% to 19% between 2006 and 2016, while In Germany it grew from 12% to over 32%. While France is behind schedule, by 2020, more than a quarter of its electricity consumption should come from RES, rising to 40% by 2030. Germany, reached its 2020 target early and decided to raise its 2030 target to 65%.

Internationally, responsibility for climate change policies rests with national governments. The federal government says it remains committed to Australia’s target under the Paris Agreement, but it has abandoned the emissions-reduction obligation of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG). This leaves Australia’s electricity sector, which is responsible for 34% of our overall emissions, with no credible policy to reduce those emissions.

When that energy comes from coal, residents who live downwind pay through poorer health and, as with all fossil fuels, the whole world pays for this combustion in the form of a warmer climate. Cleaning up or closing the nation’s dirtiest power plants could help stem the damage all around.

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