No 'gas-fired recovery'
A brazen push for a fossil-fuel fired economic recovery is underway.
The Prime Minister's hand-picked National Covid-19 Coordination Commission is stacked for former fossil fuel executives and operates without much scrutiny or transparency.
And now the Grant King review of Australia’s emissions reduction policies has recommended redirecting emissions reduction funding into failed carbon capture and storage and to big emitters.<
The crisis requires fast, large, effective and well targeted fiscal stimulus. And what we actually need is less gas, not more.
Subsidising the gas industry is a very poor option for stimulus and recovery spending and would make climate change worse.
Gas causes climate change. It is not a transitional solution, it's more expensive than renewables and as an employment generator the Australian Government could invest in almost any other sector of the economy and create more jobs.
The Australian Energy Market Operator says that with the right regulations, renewables could supply 75% of the electricity in the National Electricity Market by 2025.
Now is the time to build the Australian economy back better, and lead Australia with solutions to address the climate crisis, as well as the pandemic.
We need a renewably-powered recovery, not a gas-fired one. Add your name -->
Dear Energy Minister –
A “gas-fired recovery” would increase emissions and energy costs and squander Australia's recovery spending.
We, the undersigned, urge you to rule out taxpayer subsidies to the gas and fossil fuel industry and invest in a renewably-powered economic recovery.