The government’s clean energy bank and the Abbott-proof fence
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”.
Related documents
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
The kind of hypocrisy that has become so normal in Australian politics it almost slips past unnoticed
Governments say the right things about becoming a ‘renewable energy superpower’ and committing to net zero. But they keep approving new coal and gas projects as if the laws of physics don’t apply to Australia.
The dangers of centrism in a time of crisis
In the fight against slavery, abolitionists eventually prevailed over slave owners. The long fight was not won in the sensible centre, but by “radical, democratic” absolutists who risked their lives in the fight to save the lives of others. It scares me to think how the ABC, or indeed most of the world’s media, would
Coalition’s Iran fail the latest proof of its intellectual malaise
This shouldn’t be new information to anyone who has been paying attention, but it is now undeniable. The Coalition is a fringe party, and should be treated as such.