I AM deeply deeply dismayed about the future direction our government, at both state and federal levels, is heading in the area of energy.
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I can't possibly see how creating a future for our country based on digging fossil fuels out of the ground because it's there, ignoring the impacts of burning it and ignoring the fact that the rest of the world is quite rapidly turning away from it, is at all a good thing.
But this is exactly the direction that our current government is taking us.
Aside from the many energy efficiency and renewable energy programs already scrapped, the alarm bells are now really going off after reading the report on the review of the Renewable Energy Target.
This report, put together by a federal government-appointed panel led by a climate change denier and fossil fuel lobbyist, is effectively saying that the renewable energy target should be axed because there is enough coal in the ground to keep burning.
This makes no sense on many fronts - the Renewable Energy Target was introduced by the Howard government and previously had bipartisan support.
Renewable energy remains one of our best ways to start driving down greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy is job rich and shares benefits across regions.
Renewable energy is a trillion dollar industry globally.
Our region has nothing to gain from the fossil fuel industry.
Our region is rich in renewable energy opportunities. Cutting the RET will be disastrous for these opportunities.
The only thing it will do is deliver increased profits to fossil fuel companies.
It is time to speak up about this. Anyone who is concerned about this should call or write to both the federal environment and industry ministers today.
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