Australia has boundless plains, endless sunshine, and plenty of wind. But major parties have failed to seize these opportunities, and now we're falling behind. That needs to change.
Australia can and should be a clean energy superpower.
We have boundless plains, an endless amount of sunshine, and plenty of wind. And yet, due to decades of climate wars by the major parties, we have not seized the extraordinary opportunities available to us. We are now falling behind other nations, including the United States, Europe, and China, in updating our economy for the 21st century.
As someone who has spent more than 30 years in finance and clean energy – I helped set up the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, worked with the Smart Energy Council, and advised an Australian electric vehicle start-up – these political machinations are not just frustrating, they are economically reckless.
When I listen to people working in super funds and private wealth management, they tell me that investing in Japan, Canada, and the United States is a safer bet than Australia. That needs to change.
We know there are tens of billions of dollars of investment and tens of thousands of jobs out there ripe for the taking. We just need stronger and clearer climate action from the Federal Government to unlock a wave of economic productivity.
To some extent, we’ve already achieved significant progress despite the political logjam:
- More than 4 million rooftops (a third of all households) have installed solar – one of the highest rates in the world.
- Coal power dipped below 50% of generation for the first time in Q4 last year, as more large-scale wind, solar, and battery projects come online to take advantage of our abundant natural resources.
- An additional 4.3 gigawatts of renewable energy were committed last year – the highest level of private investment in renewable capacity since 2018.
Australians understand that a strong economy and strong climate action go hand in hand. The choice is not between prosperity and sustainability. It’s between leading the transition to a cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy future – or being left behind.
We need a fast and fair energy plan
Adopt expert-led emissions reduction targets
- Adopt a 75% emission reduction target by 2035: Align national policies with what the science says is needed to protect the future of our planet.
- Formalise sector-specific strategies: Government’s role is to provide long, loud, and legal policy parameters around emission reduction plans, including for key industries such as energy, transportation, and agriculture. This way, we let businesses find opportunities and home-grown investors, not the taxpayer, do the heavy lifting on financing reform.
- A moratorium on new coal projects: Halt the approval and development of new coal mines, and take responsibility for the emissions we’re exporting and enabling in the rest of the world. Scale up the mining and export of ‘new economy’ resources and critical minerals instead.
- End native forest logging to save taxpayer funds, reduce carbon emissions, and protect biodiversity.
Phase out fossil fuel subsidies
- Phase out the $65 billion in taxpayer-funded fossil fuel subsidies in the budget – money that should be going to Australian families, not overseas investors.
- Redirect funds to provide immediate energy bill relief for families and turbocharge the rollout of tens of thousands of battery and solar systems for Australian homes and small businesses.
- Prioritise grid infrastructure: Properly engage with impacted landholders and upgrade transmission networks to accommodate increased renewable energy input, ensuring efficient distribution and unlocking private investment.
Make sure workers get a fair deal
No one should be left behind as we update our economy for the 21st century.
- Retraining programs for fossil fuel workers – to provide pathways into secure, good jobs in clean energy, construction, and manufacturing.
- Invest in renewable energy hubs – providing coal communities with the opportunity to be at the forefront of the next generation of energy production.
- Support for local manufacturing – Rather than ‘digging-and-shipping’ our resources, we need to support jobs that help value-add along the entire supply chain of the global clean tech boom that’s underway – using our iron ore for steel, and critical minerals for the batteries our trading partners need.
Strengthen our climate resilience and disaster preparedness
- Strengthen building codes for homes and businesses and provide financial support to retrofit buildings to protect from more frequent storms, floods, and fires.
- Provide additional funding for local emergency services to ensure we are fully equipped to respond to severe natural disasters.
- National program to improve the resilience of all social housing by state governments, raising them to Resilient Building Council four-star standards.
- Support banks, such as through the CEFC, to extend and discount mortgages to update climate-prone buildings to an RBC four-star rating, resulting in lower insurance premiums with participating insurers.