The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has called for greater federal dialogue surrounding Australia’s clean energy transition ahead of the upcoming 2022 Federal Election.
The CEC today launched its Roadmap for a Renewable Energy Future: Federal Election Policy Recommendations, urging Australia’s political leaders to take a stance on meeting our country’s domestic electricity demand with clean energy by 2030.
The Clean Energy Council’s nine-point Roadmap consists of the following 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
- Turbo-charge 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
“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,” Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, said.
“Voters will back policy that promotes emissions reduction and, critically, the Australian business community supports an acceleration of Australia’s decarbonisation efforts.”
While state and territory governments have become the torchbearers of policy ambition for Australia’s clean energy transition in recent years, the CEC argues that the Federal Government needs to take the lead on a strong and coordinated strategy to facilitate private investment in low-cost clean energy.
“The signals coming from the private sector indicate the Federal Government’s latest policy statements on net-zero emissions are not enough,” Mr Thornton said.
“They are looking at short-term 2030 targets to drive immediate investment.
“An electricity grid powered by 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 will deliver emissions reductions based on 2005 levels of 44.5 per cent.
“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.”
For more information on the CEC’s full Federal Election Policy Recommendations, click here.
