Yesterday Australia passed a law that will require 20% of the country’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. That will match targets set by the European Union last year. But some Australian leaders are worried that the target isn’t enough and that more aggressive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are needed.
From The Guardian:
The bill was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday after the government reached a deal with the main opposition party to increase government assistance to industries that are heavy users of electricity and create safeguards for existing investment in the coal mining industry.
Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Australian Greens minor opposition party, said the target should be 30% and that big polluters were offered too much government assistance.
Senator Bob Fielding, an independent, said the bill will make power too expensive.
“It’s mums and dads that will be subsidising wind-powered electricity, solar – these are very expensive,” he said.
Currently, 8% of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources, including hydroelectric generators built late last century, according to the private Clean Energy Council.
Critics argue the target will make electricity more expensive in coal-rich Australia without curbing the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases that the nation emits, as overall electricity consumption rises.
Climate change minister, Penny Wong, told the Senate on Wednesday that even with one-fifth of Australia’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020, the nation’s carbon gas emissions are projected to be 20% higher than 2000 levels.
More here.
[Photo: mugley, Flickr]
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