2014 Department of Prime Minister Renewable Energy Target Review Public Consultation
The Australian federal government is currently reviewing Australia's Renewable Energy Target.
The Renewable Energy Target mandates the purchase of renewable energy certificates by electricity users (typically through energy retailers like Western Australia's Synergy). The Renewable Energy Target aims to have a minimum of 20% of Australia's electricity generation sourced from renewable sources by 2020.
Since it was established in 2001 the scheme has enjoyed bipartisan support from federal governments, however there are indications the current Coalition federal government is not supportive of the scheme and may attempt to wind back, or even abolish, the Renewable Energy Target. More information on the Renewable Energy Target can be found at my blog post here.
The federal government is obligated to undertake public consultation during any review of the Renewable Energy Target and I have provided a submission to the review process, which can be found here.
My submission focusses on the need to maintain the Renewable Energy Target in its current form to maintain policy certainty for the renewable energy industry, to reduce perceptions of Australia as a site of sovereign risk and to meet our international obligations for a 5% reduction on 2000 emissions by 2020, particularly in the absence of a carbon pricing mechanism.