Released 26/10/2018
At today’s Energy Council meeting, the Council voted against a proposal from ACT Climate Change Minister, Shane Rattenbury, asking for work to develop a suitable greenhouse gas emissions reduction mechanism for the electricity sector.
The ACT's proposal was supported by QLD, VIC, and WA, but opposed by the Commonwealth, SA, TAS and NSW, which means that it was not passed.
The request for further work on emissions reduction comes after the Federal Government abandoned its National Energy Guarantee (NEG) proposal earlier this year.
“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector must be core work of the energy council if Australia is to genuinely address climate change, and to ensure electricity reliability and reduce power prices,” said Mr Rattenbury.
“One of the great ironies is that taking action on climate change, and supporting more renewable energy, will help to bring down power prices.
“The Federal Government won’t be able to fulfil its promise of affordable power bills unless it takes its head out of the sand and deals with emissions.
The ACT's request echoes the call this week from a wide range of Australian stakeholders for the COAG Energy Council to address emissions as an essential part of achieving cost reductions. The stakeholders include the Australian Business Council, Ai Group, the Australian Conservation Foundation, and the Australian Council of Social Service.
The ACT's proposal asked the COAG Energy Council to “… task the Energy Security Board to prepare policy advice on a mechanism to introduce an electricity sector emissions reduction obligation into the National Electricity System, to assess the effect of such changes in reducing energy prices, and to provide an update on progress at the December 2018 meeting.”
“I thank the QLD, VIC and WA Ministers for supporting the ACT's proposal. I remain deeply disappointed that the Federal Government, and COAG Energy Council, is letting down the Australian people by its failure to responsibly act on climate change, electricity prices and reliability,” said Mr Rattenbury.
- Statement ends -
Shane Rattenbury, MLA | Media Releases
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