2021-03-27
Under a Greens shared power parliament Australia will strive to generate 700% of existing electricity demand with renewables, Adam Bandt MP has declared, outlining a key electoral policy ahead of the launch of a new policy vision document this weekend.
Part of a pitch to voters in Queensland this weekend, this policy will be a key part of Greens election campaigning in the coming months ahead of the election.
These key policies will be focused on combating inequality, and be central to any negotiation in a power sharing Parliament, which is the most likely outcome after the election, with the Greens in the balance of power in the House and the Senate.
This 700% renewable energy target would have Australia generate all of its domestic electricity needs through wind, solar, and other renewables, with a massive green energy surplus to electrify the rest of our economy, grow energy intensive manufacturing sectors like green steel and aluminium and power new export industries in green hydrogen.
At this week’s Senate Estimates, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) boss Darren Miller reconfirmed the agency’s assertion that 700% renewables was an achievable goal.
With severe weather events - made more frequent and powerful by climate change - causing death and destruction, the Greens want to make renewables and global heating a significant election issue.
Meeting this 700% goal will require major leadership from the Commonwealth including:
- A $20 billion Grid Transformation Fund starting with implementation of AEMO’s Integrated System Plan
- A major public investment in renewable energy generation and storage in renewable energy zones
- A clean energy and green materials government procurement program and a renewable export strategy.
- An accelerated electrification plan for transport, buildings and industry
Quotes attributable to Greens Leader Adam Bandt:
“At the next election Labor is very unlikely to win majority government in its own right, but with the Greens in balance of power we can turf the Liberals out and take the action voters demand on the climate crisis and economic inequality,” Mr Bandt said.
“700% renewables means not just 100% renewable electricity as we replace coal and gas power stations, but switching transport, buildings and industry to clean energy too, as well as exporting our renewable energy to the rest of the world through renewable hydrogen, solar electricity and green metals.
“In a shared power government, the Greens will push for Australia to generate 700% renewable energy, turning Australia into a renewable energy superpower, exporting clean energy to the world and fighting the climate crisis.
“There’s no time to waste. We are in a climate emergency that threatens to catastrophically overwhelm our society and economy. Under the Liberals, we’re also failing to take advantage of a renewable energy revolution that could create hundreds of thousands of jobs exporting Australia’s sun and wind to power our region with clean, green energy.
“On current trajectories, clean energy exports will eclipse our coal exports to India within a generation. That is $11b by 2040, but it’s still a shade of what’s possible without the Liberals in charge. Imagine what we could achieve if we had a government that wasn’t backed by the fossil fuel industry.
“Over the next decade, we need to rapidly transition our power grid to wind and solar backed by storage, and electrify our transport, industry, businesses and homes to run on clean energy.
“We will attract massive new international investment in clean manufacturing and industries to Australia.
“This clean energy revolution will create hundreds of thousands of well-paid, long-term jobs, enabling workers in fossil fuel industries in QLD and elsewhere to transition and farmers to be paid to farm carbon and protect the land.
“To unlock this revolution the government will need to lead the way with public investment in renewable generation, storage and transforming the power grid.
“Putting in 110% effort to stop the climate crisis is no longer enough. Let’s aim for 700%.”