There will be some cooler heads on both sides that think that way.
But I also know there are staunch conservatives who are very pro fossil fuels in the Coalition and there are internal party dynamics at play where going too strong on renewable energy creates a risk around party room support. We saw this with the removal of Turnbull the first time with his support for an ETS by Abbott who opposed an ETS.
The dynamics have changed and Abbott doesn't have as much influence, but I think that dynamic is still at play in some way shape or form. I wish I had more inside information on this.
We can also see the way in which the Environment and Energy Minister needed to rule out an emission intensity scheme when they sought advice from an Energy review in 2016 early 2017.
Then they did another review which suggested the National Energy Guarantee which is contested by Labour and from what I could tell a few states as well. They're trying to protect fossil fuels by mandating retailers to keep a certain amount of dispatch-able power which is described in such a way to mean base load coal and gas. I don't disagree with the concept of energy security and security of supply but from my mind it was clear that this was also a mechanism to prop up and maintain the importance of fossil fuels.
I'm less optimistic than you in how this will be managed going forward. It has been politically charged for ages. We had the Labour minority government design an emissions trading scheme with a fixed price for a number of years with the Greens that was opposed by Abbott with axe the tax etc. That was wound back when he won office and replaced with Emission Reduction Fund (subsidies).
That's the context that led us to the National Energy Guarantee. I'm not across it's design or suitability but the process that arrived at the 3 page summary was laughable. The Government ignored a thorough Energy Review in 2016/17 then did a separate process to get the answer the Party Room wanted, a policy with healthy support for fossil fuels.
It may evolve into something better or maybe already has (I've tuned out lately), but I really can't see some grand coalition across party lines for the betterment of the country and the environment.
To be honest if I thought they were going to sort it all out I wouldn't have invested in RNE. It's the fact that they are so dysfunctional that gives me confidence that there is a business model here![]()
Add to My Watchlist
What is My Watchlist?
