Australia passes 20% renewable energy target bill
Australia’s parliament has ruled that 20% of the country’s electricity production must come from renewable sources by 2020.
The bill quadruples the renewable energy target set by the previous government in 2001. The new target matches that of the European Union, the world’s leader in green power technology.
The target would provide enough clean electricity to power the households of all 21 million Australians. Currently, 8% of Australia's electricity comes from renewable sources, according to the Private Clean Energy Council.
The bill was passed by the Australian Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday 25 August after the government reached a deal with the main opposition party to increase government assistance to energy intensive industries, notably aluminium production and coal mining.
Matthew Warren, CEO of Australia’s Clean Energy Council welcomed the move, saying, ‘This is to date the most significant piece of climate change legislation in Australian history.’
However critics are arguing that the new target will make electricity more expensive in coal-rich Australia without curbing the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases that the nation emits, as overall electricity consumption rises.
The new law comes just days after parliament rejected a separate, even more ambitious, climate change bill based on emissions trading. The government-backed bill proposed a tax on industries' carbon emissions, slashing the country's emissions by up to 25% below 2000 levels by 2020. An amended carbon bill will be resubmitted later this year.
The bill quadruples the renewable energy target set by the previous government in 2001. The new target matches that of the European Union, the world’s leader in green power technology.
The target would provide enough clean electricity to power the households of all 21 million Australians. Currently, 8% of Australia's electricity comes from renewable sources, according to the Private Clean Energy Council.
The bill was passed by the Australian Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday 25 August after the government reached a deal with the main opposition party to increase government assistance to energy intensive industries, notably aluminium production and coal mining.
Matthew Warren, CEO of Australia’s Clean Energy Council welcomed the move, saying, ‘This is to date the most significant piece of climate change legislation in Australian history.’
However critics are arguing that the new target will make electricity more expensive in coal-rich Australia without curbing the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases that the nation emits, as overall electricity consumption rises.
The new law comes just days after parliament rejected a separate, even more ambitious, climate change bill based on emissions trading. The government-backed bill proposed a tax on industries' carbon emissions, slashing the country's emissions by up to 25% below 2000 levels by 2020. An amended carbon bill will be resubmitted later this year.
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