Sustainable Energy Policy for Australia

This article presents the good news that an ecologically sustainable and healthy energy system, based on efficient energy use and renewable energy sources, is now technologically and economically feasible for Australia. Given the political will, it could possibly be achieved by 2030 without major disruption to the economy and society. But this energy system is being held back by political and cultural barriers, manifest in part by misinformation circulated by vested interests and ineffective government policies. None of the existing policies of federal and state governments and oppositions is capable of taking more than tiny steps towards the goal of sustainable, healthy energy. The federal government’s proposed emissions trading scheme would actually be a backward step, locking in the big greenhouse polluters. Effective policies recommended in this article include a science-based greenhouse target; mandatory energy efficiency standards for all inhabited buildings, appliances and equipment; a national system of gross feed-in tariffs for renewable electricity sources of all sizes; and a carbon price with no exemptions and a very limited number of overseas offsets. There should be an immediate ban on new conventional coalfired power stations and on major refurbishments and expansions of existing ones.