“Removing the Paris Climate Agreement emissions reduction target from the National Energy Guarantee is a welcome development, but the government should immediately withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and end all subsidies to weather-dependent energy generation,” said Daniel Wild, Research Fellow with the free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.
Today, the government announced that it would not be implementing the Paris Climate Agreement emissions reduction targets by legislation or regulation at this stage.
However, meeting the Paris Climate Agreement requirement to reduce Australia’s emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 remains government policy.
“The government should immediately provide formal notice to the United Nations that Australia will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. That would be the surest way to provide investor certainty and put downward pressure on electricity prices.”
“The government should also immediately end all subsidies to weather-dependent energy generation, such as wind and solar. This means abolishing the Renewable Energy Target, refusing to honour government financing which is already in place, and abolishing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and the Emissions Reduction Fund,” said Mr Wild.
Recent IPA research estimated that implementing the Paris Climate Agreement emissions reduction requirements would cost Australia at least $52 billion by 2030. That is equal to $8,566 for every Australian family.
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