• Energy experts are warning that Australia will not meet its 2030 emissions reduction target - at the same time the national government is expected to announce bolder targets for 2035!
  • On assuming government after the landslide 2022 election Labor promised to reduce emissions by 43% compared to those of 2005.
  • Now, the Labor government is about to set a new 2035 emissions reduction target required under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - a target of possibly 60% - or more!
  • But as Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen has said, 'Emissions reduction targets are much easier set than met'!
  • AND there is increasing concern among energy experts and industry that Australia will not meet it's 2030 emissions reduction target, much less its more ambitious 2035 one.
  • 'Australia has barely reached the level of  emissions reduction the previous Morrison government committed to.' ..'We're sitting at 28% or thereabouts .. where we've been sitting for the last three years ... Emissions are just moving sideways.. so it's a really steep hill to climb from here to 2030'.      (Frank Jotzo, Professor, Environmental and Climate Change Economics, ANU, Crawford School of Public Policy).
  • To get to the 2030 commitment 'there has to be a really dramatic decline in electricity sector emissions before 2030.'
  • COMMENT: Read - significant reduction in the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity! AND a significant increase in the amount of renewable generating capacity - namely solar and wind! - a significant increase in rooftop solar and the home use of electricity from EV generated - battery stored energy.  In sum, a significant reduction in the need for large grid generated electrical energy and a significant increase in battery stored and used renewably generated energy.
  • THE BARRIERS:
  • Weaker investment in new renewable energy and storage projects - partly as a result of uncertainty in the renewables sector caused by the absolutely unnecessary and distracting arguments about the development of nuclear power, and extend the use of aging inefficient coal- and gas-fired power stations.
  • Time taken to get new large-scale renewable energy (solar, wind,battery storage) projects approved. 'It's taking way too long to turn investment into clean energy'.. 'it's taking 9-10 years to get a wind farm from investment to delivery' ( Richie Merziam, CEO, Clean Energy Investor Group).- because of approval 'red tape' associated with the lack of reform to the Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Act [reform has again been delayed and put on the back burner]
  • Merriam's comments are supported by the recent report of the Productivity Commission.
  • There are numerous large-scale renewable projects in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia that are delayed or postponed and inefficient ailing fossil fuel generation plants in NSW and Victoria that have been given extended lives.
  • Obstructionism to any proposed reform of the 'red tape' (e.g., one senior government source points to the new government of Queensland - previously a 'bright spot' for renewables investment, now has dumped the renewable energy targets and passed legislation that makes it harder for for wind and solar projects to be approved and extended the life of fossil fuel generation plants.)  
  • THE RESULT - 'Australia still has a great deal less clean energy in the system and more dirty fossil fuels than the official forecasts would have us believe' (Dylan McConnell, UNSW, energy systems researcher). 'There are two incompatible stories- one is of record investment "in the pipeline". The other is 'what's actually being delivered'.
  • Emissions in some sectors have actually increased on 2005 figures! Transport - up by 15 million tonnes due to a late  and very weak legislation of emission standards; and Australians preference for bigger, heavier and fuel inefficient SUVs and Utes: gas extraction and processing of export LNG has resulted in an increase of 21 million tonnes!
  • The biggest share of claimed reductions - 163/170 million tonnes has come from Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry -
  • AND THERE ARE VERY BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT CLAIM - 'greenwashing' - funds being given to landowners for not clearing land they were never going to clear; funds for planting seedling trees that won't have any impact on emissions for the next 50 years.
  • ONE SOLUTION - make the big polluters and emitters pay MONEY for the damage they cause by still mining and burning fossil fuels INSTEAD OF BUYING OFTEN 'FAKE' CARBON CREDITS GENERATED BY OFFSET GREENWASHING!
  • SECOND SOLUTION - increase the number of community-based and household rooftop solar energy systems - reducing the need for large-grid fossil fuel-based generation!
  • THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN RIGHT NOW TO INVEST IN ROOFTOP SOLAR, HOUSEHOLD BATTERY STORAGE AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY STORAGE TRANSPORT.
  • WITH incentive funding/rebates from Commonwealth, State and Local governments, cheaper batteries and a great selection of moderately priced EVs - the time to invest in your own rooftop solar and battery storage has never been better!

  • Savings of over $4000.00/year - and also saving our planet Earth at the same time.

    [by David Smith for Electrifying Bradfield Inc. Based on an article by Secombe.M., 'Moving sideways: Emissions stuck in Morrison Era', The Saturday Paper, August 23-29,2025, pages 1,12-13.]