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Category Archives: Fossil Fuel Reduction

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24 June 2015, Renew Economy, RET settled, so what next for renewable energy advocates? Now that at long last the RET debate is settled, what next for advocates of renewable energy? Since the first worrying signs that the Coalition may not support the Renewable Energy Target’s 41,000 GWh target before the 2013 federal election, the defence of the RET has, quite understandably, consumed much of the time and resources of the renewable energy sector.

One of the costs of this political fight has been that much important analysis and public debate have been deferred, especially around the question of renewable energy targets for 2030 and beyond. With the near-term crisis now settled it is time to reanalyse the cost and technical feasibility of achieving very high renewable energy penetration levels. Analytical work needs to be done now because the national conversation about increasing the RET for the years 2030 and beyond will inevitably start soon. The next election is never far off. Perhaps the best way to achieve this would be to update and extend the 100% renewable energy studycompleted by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). This study was commissioned by the Gillard Government under pressure from the Greens as part of the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee (MPCCC) agreement.  It was published in 2013, with most of the analysis completed in 2012. Read More here

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24 June 2015, Renew Economy, Senate passes RET bill, cut to wind farms becomes law: Australia on Tuesday became the first developed country to cut its renewable energy target – adding to its honour of being the first to dismantle a carbon price – when the Senate passed legislation reducing the large scale target from 41,000GWh to 33,000GWh by 2020. The new bill will cut new investment in renewables by around $5 billion, just as the world accelerates its investment in wind farms, with more than $US3.7 trillion to be spent on solar alone in the next two decades, and $US8 trillion overall, according to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The legislation, which also allows native wood waste to be burned and included in the target, and introduces a “wind commissioner” to deal with complaints from nearby residents, will likely cause a huge scramble as projects stalled in the investment drought over the past two years seek off-take agreements and financing. While both the government and the Opposition – and some industry groups – hailed the passage of the bill as providing “certainty” – it is only a thin veneer.

Labor environment spokesman Mark Butler baited the government saying that it was “bad news for Tony Abbott” because it meant “those wind farms he finds so utterly offensive can start being built again, despite his best efforts to drive them from our shores.” The reality is that while the Coalition government has pledge no further review until 2020, it is just one vote short in the Senate from doing what it likes. With an election possible soon, and Labor struggling in the polls, that certainty may be short-lived.  Abbott has made clear he would stop new wind farms if he could. Read more here

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24 June 2015, The Guardian, Renewable energy target: Senate sits late to pass bill without amendment. Chamber of commerce says deal surmounts ‘major hurdle’ as Greens and environmentalists attack Coalition pledge to create a windfarm commissioner. Legislation to reduce the renewable energy target from 41,000 gigawatt hours to 33,000gWh has passed both houses of parliament. The Senate sat late on Tuesday to pass the bill. Labor and the Coalition struck a deal on the target in May after a months-long standoff that the renewables industry said undermined investment.

Plans to review the RET every two years and to include the burning of native wood in the target proved to be sticking points for Labor in the negotiation of the deal. The government eventually dropped plans for biennial reviews. “The 33,000 gigawatt hour renewable energy target will not be reviewed until 2020,” said the environment minister, Greg Hunt. “This will give the renewable energy industry the certainty it needs to grow.” The government won the support of some Senate crossbenchers for plans to include wood waste in the target by promising to appoint a windfarm commissioner. A letter from Hunt, revealed last week by Guardian Australia, shows that the commissioner’s main function will be to respond to complaints about wind turbines. Read more here

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24 June 2015, Reuters, Dutch government ordered to speed up greenhouse gas cuts: A district court ordered the Dutch government on Wednesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster than currently planned in a rare use of the legal system to curb global warming. A judge in The Hague said the state must “ensure that the Dutch emissions in the year 2020 will be at least 25 percent lower than those in 1990” as the Netherlands’ fair share to avert more heat waves, floods and rising sea levels.

Based on current government policy, the Netherlands will achieve a reduction of 17 percent at most in 2020, which is below a norm of 25-40 percent for developed countries, a summary of the ruling said. The decision was a victory for environmental group Urgenda Foundation, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of nearly 900 Dutch citizens. “The parties agree that the severity and scope of the climate problem make it necessary to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the summary said. Some saw the ruling as a landmark, if it ends up being binding. “This could be the first judicial warning shot to governments around the world,” said Bill Hare, of independent research group Climate Analytics. Read More here

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