As Australia’s political future looks set to be decided early this week, the nation’s peak clean energy body, the Clean Energy Council, has called on whoever forms government to set a price on carbon as soon as possible.
The Clean Energy Council has released an open letter signed by nineteen of Australia’s major energy retailers – the letter also reminds us these companies are major employers and supporters of renewable energy projects in regional Australia – which says that a carbon price is essential to meeting our emissions reduction target of 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.
Signatories to the letter include AGL, TRU Energy, GE, and Pacific Hydro.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Matthew Warren, said Australians wanted the government – whichever side of politics manages to gain power – to take action on climate change, to provide cheaper clean energy and that business wanted certainty to invest in more renewable energy projects and jobs.
“An emissions trading scheme is widely recognised as being the most efficient way of reducing emissions across the economy,” Mr Warren said.
“It is a policy that has been supported by Professor Ross Garnaut, former Prime Minister John Howard, former Coalition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, the Greens and the Labor Party.”
Mr Warren said the political stand-off between rural independents and the major parties following the federal election was a positive for the environment and put renewable energy policy back on the mainstream agenda.
“We welcome and congratulate the role the independents are taking in ensuring climate change policy remains on the radar of the major political parties,” Mr Warren said. “Renewable energy is also great for rural and regional Australia – it will create growth, greater economic diversity and help drought-proof farms and regions.”
The open letter can be viewed here (PDF)
