Power sector rewards would fuel swifter switch to clean energy options
09 Apr 2003
BRISBANE: The Australian government should provide a range of economic incentives to encourage electricity generators and providers, as well as the general public, to switch to renewables and energy efficient technology options, says WWF.
"Currently, substantial government funding and policy support continues to go towards misguided efforts to clean up coal rather than to supporting the development and uptake of cleaner sources of electricity," said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF's international climate change program.
"After Poland and South Africa, Australia is the world's most coal dependent nation. This dependence has a huge influence on the Australian Government's attitude to greenhouse gas reduction policies and laws.
"For example, the Australian Government is currently funding three research centres devoted to fossil fuel industries but has frozen a rebate scheme to encourage installation of solar electricity on rooftops."
Ms Morgan is the director of WWF's global climate change campaign across 20 countries and also heads the WWF delegation to the Kyoto Protocol climate negotiations. She is a key speaker at the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy national conference in Brisbane tomorrow.
Following an opening address by Dr David Kemp, Federal Minister for Environment and Heritage, outlining the government's greenhouse policy, Ms Morgan will speak on the necessity for developing countries to deliver 'deep cuts' in greenhouse gas emissions in the next ten to twenty years.
"Energy efficiency is the first plank in any government approach to developing a carbon dioxide free power sector," she said.
"Government policies can significantly help in accelerating efficiency trends. These include setting minimum efficiency trends for appliances, buildings and industrial motors, offering tax incentives for investments in higher efficiency equipment and setting efficiency targets and caps on carbon emissions."
Ms Morgan said it was crucial that industrialised countries, like Australia, took action to substantially reduce their greenhouse emissions over the next two decades.
"Climate change is arguably our most pervasive environmental problem and generating electricity is the biggest single source of man-made carbon dioxide emissions world-wide. Our biggest challenge is to move away from an energy system dominated by fossil fuels and to a carbon dioxide free future," she said.
"This will take substantial investment in new technologies and practices as well as political leadership of the highest order."
Ms Morgan said Australia's power sector should lead the move to reduce greenhouse emissions by developing practical mitigation options and diversifying electricity supply options.
"There is growing evidence that a shift from coal to clean energy would be economical and would actually save consumers money," she said.
