CANWin joined 68 other Climate Action Groups in a joint ‘Submission on Discussion Papers to the Energy White Paper Secretariat’

JOINT PRESS RELEASE 29th May 2009

69 Climate Action Groups Call for Rapid Transition to 100% Renewables!

69 Climate Action Groups representing thousands of people from across the country have called for a major “paradigm shift” in Australia towards 100% renewable electricity.

In a joint submission to the Energy White Paper Secretariat, Groups stressed that a dramatic shift in energy policy towards renewables would enable Australia to deal coherently with the multiple threats stemming from climate change, the global financial crisis and peak oil .

A rapid shift to renewables would provide major employment growth opportunities over the next decade, and would re-invigorate major infrastructure investments in our electricity demand and supply systems and public transportation systems, the submission said.

Groups highlighted renewable energy as their preferred technology of the future as it:

• Is a clean, emissions-free and sustainable form of energy;
• Has been demonstrated to be commercially viable, with small, medium and large-scale installations already operating in countries with favourable renewable energy policies;
• Can be rapidly rolled out “ in years, rather than decades (as is the case for Carbon Capture and Storage and nuclear power)” a critical factor in our ability to truly mitigate dangerous climate change; and
• Covers a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, such as solar-thermal; geo-thermal; solar PV; wave; tidal; sustainable biomass and wind power.

Climate Action Groups called on the Secretariat to prepare a “nuts and bolts” 100% renewable electricity implementation plan as part of the Energy White Paper, including analysis for Australia of a 10-year transition time frame (as called for by Al Gore in the United States).

Groups outlined a strong case to the Secretariat for implementing a Gross National Feed-In Tariff as a key mechanism to drive substantial investment in renewables “noting that Germany’s feed-in law led to a 3025% increase in its solar capacity from 64 million kWh in 2000 to 2 billion kWh in 2006. Groups have called for implementation by 1 July 2010.

Groups also called for Government funding for community renewable electricity projects (which do not currently qualify for funding), noting that community renewable projects help to build grid resilience, reduce transmission loss and provide local jobs and skills.

In terms of the Energy White Paper process, Groups welcomed the acknowledgement by the Secretariat that they had made a “mistake” in not appointing a single renewable energy expert to the high-level consultative committee**.
To remedy this mistake, the Secretariat has appointed a renewable wave energy expert to the committee “Dr Michael Ottaviano (Carnegie Corporation) “ which Groups have welcomed. However, Groups are calling on the Secretariat to urgently appoint experts in solar-thermal, solar PV, geo-thermal and wind power to the committee as well.

The renewable energy sector has already had numerous setbacks over the past 14 years stemming from the pre-disposition of both the current and previous Governments towards fossil-fuel based energy supplies, the submission said.

Further “mistakes” in this area will hinder investor certainty at a time when Australia can least afford it.

Groups therefore call on the Secretariat to ensure that the Energy White Paper process sends a clear signal to investors (both domestic and international) that Australia is ready to transition towards a 100% renewable electricity supply, the submission stated.

** [Of the original 15 Committee members, 9 members represent fossil-fuel companies (Shell, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, BHP Uranium, Santos, Woodside Petroleum, Origin Energy, AGL and Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association.)

For more information contact: Tracey Tipping (Convenor, Community Climate Policy Team) Ph: 0411 861 269 or (02) 9999 2952.

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CANWin recognises that, whilst change at the personal level is the most important requirement in combating global warming, this can be greatly facilitated by good leadership from governments at all levels. The Political Lobbying Group is engaged in writing to politicians at local, state and federal levels in order to convey the concerns of CANWin members. As of a special meeting held on 31 July 2007, CANWin now has a formal policy upon which to base its lobbying. Please note the suggested additions to this policy on the Blog page.

CANWin also has been given an opportunity to sign on to the Climate Protection Bill: a call to Australia’s political leaders from Australian communities. Inspired by the success of UK community members, Australians concerned about climate change in communities across the country have written a Climate Protection Bill. This Bill comprehensively addresses the cause of Australia”s spiraling greenhouse gas emissions, and proposes workable solutions to stem these emissions, protecting people and the planet for future generations.   Individuals can sign on as well, so you may like to add your name to the thousands who already have given their support.Just visit their website: www.climatemovement.org.au