Antinuclear

Much has been said and written about the environmental cost of coal subsidies. They can prop up uneconomic coal extraction and encourage new entry and expansion that would not otherwise occur – both of which scenarios could increase carbon emissions worldwide and speed up global warming.
But what about the economic cost? A new report has revealed that the financial “propping up” of the Australian coal export industry, through a range of government subsidies aimed at boosting production, is cost costing taxpayers roughly $5.2 per tonne of coal produced, or a total of $1.8 billion a year.

The report – a combined effort from Carbon Tracker, Energy Transition Advisors, Earth Track and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) – focuses on the cost of production subsidies for fossil fuels, as opposed to subsidies aimed at boosting consumption.
The report further focuses on subsidies for thermal coal, the…

Today during a Rally for Solar a final challenge to the two leading candidates for the seat of Canning: the Liberal Party’s Andrew Hastie and Labor’s Matt Keogh. Over lunch they gathered at the Mandurah electorate offices of each candidate to deliver giant letters written on behalf of the people of Canning, calling on both candidates to publicly declare their support for a goal of at least 50% renewable energy by 2030.
The result? Labor’s Matt Keogh has declared his personal support for the policy, already endorsed by his Party’s National Platform. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for Andrew Hastie. Despite giving Mr Hastie every opportunity to support solar, he has declined to do so – and he didn’t show up to speak to solar supporters at today’s event.
Mr Hastie’s refusal to commit comes in spite of the overwhelming support solar enjoys with the people of Canning. In…