Opinion

The government’s clean energy bank and the Abbott-proof fence

April 20, 2012 by Andrew Macintosh and Richard Denniss in Crikey

Climate & Energy
Economics

Andrew Macintosh

Richard Denniss

Executive Director

Originally published in Crikey on April 19, 2012

The government announcement on Tuesday that it accepts all of the recommendations of the Broadbent inquiry into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is a high-water mark in the politics of perception. The commitment to spend $10 billion on renewable energy and energy efficiency helps convince the public that the government takes climate change seriously. In reality, the CEFC is unlikely to materially affect the trajectory of Australia’s emissions and could ultimately increase the cost of “transitioning to a low carbon economy”.