WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK IN LINE WITH LABOR POLICY

Media Release.

Mark Butler M.P.

Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy

Date:  17 November 2016

Today’s release of the International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2016 report back in the same energy policies Labor took to the election.

The report states, in a scenario that’s consistent with the Paris Agreement:

·         60% of the worlds new power generation capacity to 2040 will come from renewables.

·         By 2040, the majority of generation will be renewables-based.

·         Solar PV is expected to see its average cost cut by a further 40-70% by 2040 and onshore wind by an additional 10-25%.

·         Rapid deployment of renewables increase the likelihood of sustained periods of very low wholesale electricity prices.

The IEA’s projection of 60% renewable energy by 2040 exposes the Turnbull Government’s claims about Labor’s renewable target as a baseless fear campaign, designed to distract from their own inability to develop a forward-thinking energy policy.

In contrast to the global renewable energy boom, under the Turnbull Government Australia has no plans or policies to support renewable energy investment post-2020.

The IEA makes the case that strong structural changes to the design and operation of the power system are needed, but with no coherent energy transition plan or policy, Australia’s energy future is riddled with uncertainty and risk under the Turnbull Government.

The Liberal Party’s extreme anti-renewable right wing are not only holding the Prime Minister to ransom, it is holding Australia’s shared prosperity to ransom. This isn’t good enough and Australians need better.