It’s been a depressing three weeks for Australian climate policy. Abbott kills large-scale renewables On 22 October, the Abbott government announced it would seek to persuade the Senate to slash the 2020 large-scale renewable energy target (LRET) from 41,000 to 26,000 GWh. Renewables will be allowed to meet no more than 50% of new energy …
Category: Energy
Aug 22 2014
Is Energy Australia lying to its customers?
My household recently switched energy companies. The main reason was that the one we left, Energy Australia, has been lobbying to sabotage the federal Renewable Energy Target (RET). When an employee asked us why we were leaving we told them so, to which they innocently responded that Energy Australia is a leader in renewable energy …
May 21 2014
Bust the budget 2: Fossil fuel profits over fixing climate reality
This is the second part of a series arguing against the Abbott government’s first budget. Part 1 summarizes the overall unfairness and debunks the justification offered for this agenda. This part examines how the budget affects climate, environment, fossil fuel subsidies, business, and science. Unless otherwise hyperlinked, budget facts are sourced from either Joe Hockey’s …
Mar 14 2014
Tasmania needs a Greens opposition
Tomorrow, Tasmanians and South Australians will go to the polls for their respective state elections. In both cases the Liberals are expected to gain government, but the Tasmanian election may present an unexpected opportunity for the Greens. The Tasmanian situation is reminiscent of last year’s federal election, pitting an unpopular governing coalition of Labor (led …