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If the debate surrounding the federal government’s proposed National Energy Guarantee is anything to go by, we better get used to it. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told farmers they should “build resilience” because rainfall “appears to be getting more variable”.
Why are we being told to adapt to a hotter climate, instead of hearing what our government is doing to address climate change? Right now, there is no climate policy on the table. Nothing to stop our big polluters releasing heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
Meanwhile, the government is wasting time trying to sell a policy that does nothing to cut climate pollution or build clean energy to cut power prices.
The government’s own modelling shows the 97 per cent of the reduction in carbon pollution we’ll see under Turnbull’s NEG will happen before the policy even comes into effect. Independent modelling from Green Energy Markets shows even this projection is being too generous to the NEG, as it credits projects already in the pipeline.
At the COAG meeting on August 10, state and territory energy ministers will meet with Federal Environment and Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg seeking approval for the flawed policy. Before the meeting, states need to consider the following:
- Research by RepuTex has confirmed a version of the policy with more renewable-friendly targets would bring down household and business power bills, while electricity prices would be higher under targets proposed by the government
- The NEG will lock in its anti-renewable targets for a decade
- Energy economist Bruce Mountain said the NEG will create a “nightmare” of complexity, and is “pointless” with its current targets
- The design of the NEG delivers windfall gains to big energy companies, and its secrecy allows them to gouge in private
- Big retailers like AGL, Energy Australia and Origin may be even be allowed to claim credit for the pollution you cut with the solar panels on your rooftop
Every home, business and community group can benefit from cleaner, cheaper power. On August 10, the states and territories need to stand up to Mr Turnbull and demand a real plan to cut climate pollution and grow clean energy.
