Policy

Australia phases in new green scheme, but needs efficiency target

The Australian Government has announced that its troubled Greens Loans programme will be phased out over the next few months and replaced with a new Green Start scheme.

Earlier this year, the Government halted its home insulation programme amid widespread concerns over the quality and safety of the work and allegations of fraud.

Following a series of reviews, Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, said the old scheme will transition to a new programme by the end of the year.

The new Green Start programme will deliver funding in two rounds – firstly supporting energy assessments of households by accredited assessors and organisations. Then the Government will take proposals from community and welfare sector NGOs on how to deliver practical help for the most vulnerable households.

“This scheme will be of particular benefit to low-income households, who spend a greater proportion of their incomes on energy consumption than high-income households,” says Wong.

The new scheme includes safeguards against the problems of its predecessors, including providing funding through grants, removing the demand-driven component of the scheme to prevent budget ‘blowouts’ and auditing assessors.

The Energy Efficiency Council of Australia, however, says that a large-scale energy efficiency plan is still missing from the Government’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Council says that setting a national energy efficiency target, establishing a national efficiency scheme to replace state-by-state efforts and requiring power networks to invest in efficiency measures could reduce carbon emissions by 50 million tons and save AU$5 billion a year.

“Even if Australia introduced a price on carbon tomorrow, we would still need strong energy efficiency policies,” says a report from the Council. “The major delay to a carbon price means that energy efficiency is now critical.”

The report warns that while the Government has brought in policies to achieve 20% renewable energy by 2020, rising demand will mean emissions from fossil fuels will continue to rise.

Significant energy savings could be made in four key areas, says the Council, buildings, industry, cogeneration and government operations.

In addition, over AU$42 billion will be spent on the country’s grid over the next five years – a large part of which is to cope with increased demand, presenting an opportunity to invest in smart ways to cut waste.

“Energy efficiency is nearly half the country’s greenhouse solution and it pays itself back,” says Rob Murray-Leach of the Council.

For further information:
www.climatechange.gov.au
www.eec.org.au/

09 July 2010

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