Renewables commitment, clarity and urgency

Demand for renewable energy remains strong. People trust in solar now. There’s no question about whether it works, or ‘will it cut my power bill?’ – those things have been resolved. The industry’s mature, over the 20-year life of a solar system period, the effective cost you’re paying is 0.5c per hour. If you were a typical customer without rooftop PV, you’d be paying .35c per hour. All in all, we expect growth year on year. The question now is really how big is that growth going to be.“

JOHN GRIMES of the Smart Energy Council as reported in The Guardian

Targeting ‘net zero by 2050’ while simultaneously considering a set of market regulations that will unnecessarily subsidise the coal fired electricity generation base is ridiculous. There are alternative solutions that would be much quicker and less expensive to deploy and would support the flexibility required to rapidly transition to a renewables powered energy system. We have the technology required globally to deploy renewables and electrify everything such that if we were really motivated we could all be aiming for net zero by 2030. Let’s do that.

BEN HUTT, Evergen

While not a G7 member state, Australia should look to join the club of economies that see the transition to a carbon free future as an opportunity for growth and international collaboration.

PATRICK MATWEEW, Redback Technologies

We should be neither fearful nor complacent about accelerating carbon cuts; if emissions merely glide down now, they will need to power dive later.

INNES WILLOX, Australian Industry Group

We know that climate change means a warmer, drier climate with hotter days, harsher fire seasons and less overall but more intense rainfall, and more extreme weather events including storms and flooding. Victoria’s Climate Change Act is world-leading and is the most comprehensive legislation in Australia. We have also invested nearly $2 billion to address climate change which will help us reach our ambitious target of halving emissions by 2030.

Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change LILY D’AMBROSIO (If only this could be duplicated in federal legislature…)

Firms that do not plan for a carbon-free future risk being left behind… the next 1,000 unicorns won’t be search engines or social media companies, they’ll be sustainable, scalable innovators – startups that help the world decarbonise and make the energy transition affordable for all consumers.

LARRY FINK of BlackRock in his annual letter to CEOs, and who is urging companies to cut their carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. BlackRock manages about $10tn (AU$14tn) in assets

Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world. We have extraordinary opportunities in a decarbonised economy for more Australian investment and more Australian jobs. So let’s get on with it. Climate change is an economic problem – but we can make it an economic opportunity. We should give businesses the chance to thrive in a new, decarbonised economy… Australia’s economy and environment stands to gain from the clean energy boom. More climate action means more jobs, more investment and a stronger economy. We can’t afford even one more electoral cycle of spin, denial and inaction on climate change.

ALLEGRA SPENDER, Renewable energy advocate fighting for a better climate this federal election and standing as Wentworth independent candidate

The global commodities crunch has created new challenges for the clean energy sector, raising input costs for key technologies like solar modules, wind turbines and battery packs. Against this backdrop, a 27 per cent increase in energy transition investment in 2021 is an encouraging sign that investors, governments and businesses are more committed than ever to the low-carbon transition, and see it as part of the solution for the current turmoil in energy markets.