The Environment is a key issue in the federal election, and yesterday, we saw the release of the incumbent government’s policy. Tin tacks time – what is really being promised and what will it mean for the average punter?
Well – the key policy announcements can be summarised thus:
- introduce a 150 person “Citizen’s Assembly” to look at climate change
- reward industry that cuts emissions early
- invest in the electricity grid
- impose new restrictions on new power stations
The speech which can be read at http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/speech–julia-gillard,–moving-forward-together-on/ has attracted more interest based on what it doesn’t say rather than what it does.
A Citizen’s Assembly is not such a bad idea, but wait – aren’t we all electing a 150 person representative assembly on August 21? Pulling 150 people from the electoral roll and asking them their opinions on climate change is all well and good, but seriously, shouldn’t the people we elect have this say?
Other areas of major policy direction are hardly forward thinking here either – The Climate Institute’s Erwin Jackson responded by saying the government’s approach “was the kind of standard you would have introduced 15 years ago if you were trying to drive a change in technology” Good one Julia.
The investment in the Electricity Grid to help connect renewable sources in and to remote and regional areas is at least a step in the right direction. Penny Wong released a statement yesterday (http://www.alp.org.au/blogs/alp-blog/july-2010/connecting-renewable-energy-to-the-grid/) on this, and it is definitely welcomed, as long as it is coupled with real investment in generation infrastructure, and broad based support for renewable technology. This is as yet very unclear.
Very Large Scale solar projects such as those suggested and put together are one part of the equation, but such sources are remotely located, and hence decoupled from where the power is needed and used.
A real positive direction would be to generate renewable power where it is being used. On factory roofs, on residential homes, and on small businesses and commercial office buildings. Solar power systems are obviously the solution here, but you don’t need the same level of additional investment in infrastructure to get the power from where it is being generated to where it is being used.
Now it would be naive to think that we could power ALL our requirements from solar, so we must continue to invest in wind, geothermal, fuel cells and other renewable sources, and invest in the technologies to make these more efficient in the future – but we also need to have a realistic view about the quantum return on investment that this will provide, and further, the timing of this.
Climate change is happening now – we are living it on a daily basis, and the ostriches out there can no longer ignore it. The best way to take real action is to do something substantial now, but something considered and proven.
We’ll know which direction we move in in a few weeks no doubt.
A.
Enviromate Australia 