Antinuclear

Australia’s new climate laws are just the start for our clean energy future

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation [CEFC] and Australian Renewable Energy Agency [ARENA] have the potential to dramatically reshape the investment environment for renewable energy in this country. If they are to be as effective as they possibly can be, the renewable energy industry and those who want to see it grow as fast as it can have a very small window of opportunity to help shape the CEFC’s investment mandate and make suggestions for who should be on the boards of both
independent statutory authorities. We need to get these right and get them moving to give big solar and all the other technologies themarket signal they need to start building.

Now begins the campaign for serious climate action, The Drum,  CHRISTINE MILNE, 9 Nov 11 Yesterday we celebrated a huge achievement, with the passage of the Clean Energy Future legislation that finally puts a price on pollution
and gets us ready for historical investments in clean, renewable energy, energy efficiency and protection of landscape carbon.

But, in a very real way, yesterday’s vote is a new beginning for the campaign for serious climate action, not the end. This package of bills was designed carefully to have as many points of review as possible, as many opportunities for campaigning as possible, and as much independent expert advice as possible. Critically, it is designed with complete upward flexibility: there is no limit to ourambition if we are ready to aim high.

The challenge now is to build the political will for ambitious, science-based action over the years ahead.

The single most important innovation in the Clean Energy Future package is the process for setting targets for the emissions trading scheme that starts in 2015. Inspired by the British system, we will have five-year rolling carbon budgets, updated each year for the followingfive-year period. Annual targets for the trading scheme will be set within those budgets.

The carbon budgets, which will have to pass through the Parliament,
will be recommended by an independent expert panel, the Climate Change
Authority. In the UK, it has already proven too hard for the
government of the day to disregard the recommendations of their
Climate Commission – a key factor in the UK’s world-leading position
on legislated pollution targets. The authority will have regard to but
not be bound by the new 80 per cent by 2050 emissions reduction
target. It will undertake extensive public consultation and look in
detail at current science, current global efforts and the local
economy when determining what budgets it will recommend for the
following five-year budget each February. The Parliament will have to
act on those recommendations by the federal budget each year, marking
out a critical period for climate campaigning.

This means that, each and every year from 2014 on, we will have the
opportunity to lift our sights to greater ambition, to bring our
targets closer into line with the science…..

In order to create the space for the climate change authority to do
its job, we have to embark on a major campaign to rebuild respect for
the science and broad public acknowledgement of the scale of the
problem we face in attempting to keep global warming to less than 1.5
-2 degrees Celsius.

And, of course, making the best possible appointments to the authority
will also be critical.

That brings me to the next critical area where what we are legislating
today is only a start – driving the transformation to 100 per cent
renewable energy.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation [CEFC] and Australian Renewable
Energy Agency [ARENA] have the potential to dramatically reshape the
investment environment for renewable energy in this country. If they
are to be as effective as they possibly can be, the renewable energy
industry and those who want to see it grow as fast as it can have a
very small window of opportunity to help shape the CEFC’s investment
mandate and make suggestions for who should be on the boards of both
independent statutory authorities. We need to get these right and get
them moving to give big solar and all the other technologies the
market signal they need to start building.
At the same time, I have every hope that the initiatives we have
instigated – from requiring the Australian Energy Market Operator to
prepare scenario planning for 100 per cent renewables to tasking the
Ministerial Council on Energy with examining long overdue energy
market reform to prioritise demand side management alongside supply
side – will make bureaucrats and politicians alike sit up and think
about the way our energy grid and markets work. We all need to support
this process by gathering evidence and examples of how energy markets
operate here and elsewhere in the world to stimulate innovation rather
than stifle it, and bring it to the table here.

On that issue of driving the energy revolution and the opportunity to
move to 100 per cent renewables, I am determined to focus political
attention next year on the grid infrastructure. The grid has been
overlooked for too long in our debate. It clearly isn’t a sexy topic,
but everybody knows that, if we plan in the national interest, make
the right investment decisions now and put the right management
policies in place, we will make the transition to renewable energy and
energy efficiency easier, faster and less expensive……
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3654656.html

November 9, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | climate change - global warming