Australia’s electricity sector is the nation’s single largest source of greenhouse gas pollution, accounting for about a third of our total greenhouse gas emissions.
Extreme weather events related to climate change such as prolonged drought, bushfires, heatwaves and storms are becoming increasingly prevalent. Despite this, we are yet to see a consistent policy framework for lowering the energy sector’s carbon emissions. There have been several attempts such as the introduction of the Clean Energy Act 2011, which was subsequently repealed and the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) which included both reliability and emission reduction obligations, but ultimately didn’t eventuate. Rather than targeting emissions, federal policy has focused on encouraging investment in renewables technology via schemes such as the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Target and the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Ultimately, a clear national policy framework that facilitates the decarbonisation of the Energy Utility Sector, whilst simultaneously ensuring the stability and security of supply, has not eventuated.
This lack of a nationally co-ordinated approach to manage a transition has resulted in the States each adopting their own policies, some more aggressive than others, but with most targeting net zero by 2050.
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