Energy Bill Shame for Federal Government

Friday, 10 February 2006 20:46

The Bill requires some businesses to conduct energy audits, but doesn't require them to implement the savings.  The Bill should go further to ensure implementation, include more companies and establish a Fund to help smaller companies participate, the group said.

"This is a colossal lost opportunity for tackling dangerous climate change," said Jane Castle, TEC Campaigner.  "The Federal Government is at best supporting a go-slow, ad hoc voluntary system and at worst giving the nod for companies to continue their energy guzzling habits at the expense of the environment and economic efficiency.  Unless companies are required to implement savings, they will continue to ignore efficiency in favour of quick bucks elsewhere." 

"Reducing wasteful energy use is the cheapest and quickest way to address global warming while making us more competitive.  But this Bill only addresses one of the many barriers to energy efficiency - lack of information.  As long as there is no price on greenhouse emissions, and no requirement to reduce waste, many companies will continue to waste energy and pollute, passing this cost onto the environment and future generations."

"Companies must be required to implement savings.  Investments in energy efficiency deliver huge savings at the very minimum and returns are double the initial investment.  And the Government's own report shows that companies can cost-effectively become 30% to 70% more energy efficient."

"Australia's performance on energy efficiency is much worse than other OECD countries.  There is no excuse, considering climate change is the world's most urgent problem, and Australians are the world's worst greenhouse polluters."