Climate action will play a major role in the federal campaign. The political clash has kicked off over nuclear energy, but it will end in the family home.
The government and opposition will compete in the election campaign over their plans for renewable and nuclear energy.Meanwhile, the government’s 2022 election promise to cut electricity bills by $275 a year went awry when a global energy crunch raised fuel costs and boosted average household bills to about $1600. Now, it must answer for patchy delivery of its bold plan to rapidly swap fossil fuels for renewables in the electricity grid.
But Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen boasts the government has nearly doubled the proportion of renewables in the grid to 40 per cent since 2022 and says cheaper clean energy will lower bills and deliver the bulk of emissions cuts needed for Australia’s climate goals. Bowen has criticised the plan, arguing it will take decades to execute, deliver the most expensive form of new energy and force Australia to rely on costly fossil fuels, which he says will raise power bills by up to $1200 a year.Getty Images
However, recent data from the Climate Change Department showed Australia’s annual emissions flat-lining, due to rising transport pollution caused by increased travel post-pandemic. The government, on the other hand, last year unveiled major reform to drive EV sales: Australia’s first fuel efficiency standards, which limit the average emissions of a carmaker’s fleet of vehicles sold each year, imposing fines for breaches.
Bowen is aggressively mounting his case for cleaning up Australia’s car fleet, arguing that EVs are increasingly popular, cheaper on fuel and growing in options. He refutes claims that his plan forces carmakers to raise prices.
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