Victoria’s plan to legislate its own renewable energy target of 40% by 2025 shows how states are increasingly taking the energy policy reins away from the federal government.
Western Australia has huge amounts of sunshine and wind, yet only 7% of its energy comes from renewables. What’s more, most households in the poorest suburbs are still locked out of the solar panel boom.
A panel of leading economists has given its majority verdict on Alan Finkel’s proposed Clean Energy Target: it may not be the best possible emissions policy, but we should get on with it anyway.
Estimates released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggest that the number of direct full-time equivalent jobs in renewable energy activities has continued to fall from its 2011-12 peak.
Skirmishes over funding for renewable energy research are just the latest battle in a saga that stretches back to the early 1980s – years before the public became widely aware of the climate threat.
Australia’s energy policy has lost its way over the past couple of decades, which is unfortunate because the challenges – to move to a low-carbon economy without high prices – have never been tougher.
Australia has been mired in climate confusion for years - as reflected by its underwhelming performance at last year’s Paris climate summit. Here’s how to get things back on an even keel.