The Uniting Church WA and the Uniting Church Vic Tas have teamed up to invite members to write letters to our government leaders expressing concerns around funding for renewable energy supplies in Australia.
The churches have put together a joint resource to inform members and support them with their letters.
“The Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction asked a panel of people they selected on how to incentivise low-cost emission reduction opportunities from across the economy. The panel was asked to focus on the industrial, manufacturing, transport and agriculture sectors, and energy efficiency,” the resource says.
“The panel made 26 recommendations. One of their recommendations was that funds from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) be made available to fund carbon capture and storage for fossil fuel corporations. Carbon capture and storage means trying to catch greenhouse gas emissions and store them, such as sealing them in underground caves. The Government has indicated its support for the recommendation.
“We are deeply concerned that the recommendation will divert funds away from supporting the transition to renewable energy, to prop up fossil fuel corporations. Fossil fuel businesses already make vast profits and should be required to fund their own development of technologies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Currently, the CEFC is prohibited by law from funding carbon capture and storage projects. That means the Government will need to change the law to allow the CEFC to fund such projects. Our opportunity is to persuade the Opposition parties in the Parliament to oppose the changes in legislation that would divert CEFC and ARENA funds away from renewable energy projects to the benefit of fossil fuel corporations.”