Antinuclear

Labor to talk with Abbott govt on Renewable Energy Target, armed with latest report from Climate Change Authority

A Climate Change Authority (CCA) review of the RET, released on Monday,concluded that the scheme should not be cut, although it should be deferred by “up to three years” in order to restore investor confidence.

Investment in clean energy has virtually ground to a halt due to uncertainty over the future of the RET, which requires that 41,000 gigawatt hours of Australia’s energy come from renewables such as solar and wind by 2020.

The government has sought a bipartisan deal to “reform” the RET but Labor walked away from negotiations earlier this month, claiming the Coalition’s plan for a “real 20%” renewable target would devastate jobs and investment in the sector.

When the target was initially set, 41,000 GWh represented 20% of Australia’s estimated 2020 energy production. But the country is now on course to produce 26% to 28% of its energy from clean courses by 2020, meaning a “real 20%” would be significantly less than 41,000 GWh.

The government and opposition have now signalled that talks will resume in January, but Labor said the Coalition needed to heed the CCA’s findings.

“We do need to see a change in position from the government, a change from the prime minister’s position either to abolish the target altogether or to severely cut it back,” Mark Butler, Labor’s environment spokesman, told the ABC.

“Both of those options the Climate Change Authority says in their report would be very, very unwise options.”……..

Th environment group WWF said its own polling from November showed that nearly nine in 10 Australians thought the RET should be retained as it is or increased.

“Cutting the Renewable Energy Target is poor policy, it will see Australia’s carbon pollution go up, sustainable energy jobs lost and investment shut out,” said Kellie Caught, WWF’s climate campaigner. http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/23/labor-returns-renewable-energy-target

December 24, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics