Australia Stuck in the coal age, when the solar century has already begun

Wed May 21, 2008
From

Martin Ferguson let the cat out of the bag shortly after the Budget, when he said that carbon capture and storage would be "essential for the long-term sustainability of coal-fired power generation." With those words, he betrayed the fact that his Government prioritises the coal sector's profits over climate protection.

If that seems like a long bow to draw, look at the evidence that the Budget presents.

In the vital area of commercialisation of technologies, the myriad of renewable energy options that are ready to roll out now were allocated precisely zero for the coming year, with only $125 million in this term of Government. Next to that, the pipedream that is 'clean coal' received $35 million this year and $250 million this term.

When immediately called to task by the geothermal industry, which was, like many other renewable technology developers, calling for urgent commercialisation funding, the Government chose to make that sector an ad hoc $40 million grant, instead of shifting funding priorities. What's worse, instead of taking the $40 million from the coal sector's windfall, the Government took it out of the Energy Innovation Fund, money that had been earmarked for research into storage of solar energy.
...


Renewable energy has the potential to power our whole country with zero emissions within the near future, something coal cannot dream of. However, in terms of fast, cheap emissions reductions, nothing can beat energy efficiency. The Greens' proposal for a systemic infrastructure upgrade across Australia, to increase efficiency by 30 per cent or more across the economy, stands in stark contrast to the Government's piecemeal, tokenistic approach. A few tens of millions in rebates, grants and loans will cover a tiny percentage of homes, businesses and industry, while the cash-only offer fails to address the other well-known barriers to energy efficiency, such as lack of information and priority. Tackling energy efficiency provides a tremendous economic and social opportunity, let alone the climate benefits. Yet it was largely ignored by the Rudd Government.
....

Read the article.