- by Anna Pha
- The Guardian
- Issue #2140
Jim Chalmers’ Budget Speech failed to mention the words ‘climate change’ and ‘environment’ although $7.3 billion is allocated in recovery payments for ‘natural’ disasters that have already hit the country in the past few years. According to Deloitte, natural disasters currently cost the Australian economy more than $38 billion a year. This figure is expected to grow to at least $73 billion a year by 2060. Labor failed to honour its 2022 election promise to strengthen environmental laws. In fact it has weakened them and pursues a ‘transition to renewables’ via gas, declaring gas will be part of the energy mix until at least 2050.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation receives an injection of $4.4 billion in capital to invest in projects such as renewable power and storage, energy efficiency, and other low emissions technology. Spending in all other areas of the Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Department portfolio including the Bureau of Meteorology, the Department itself, and the Clean Energy Regulator will be cut over coming years. The allocation of $3 billion for investment in green iron and aluminium, and $3 billion for rail projects in Western Sydney and Melbourne is positive but falls far short of what is urgently required. The $7.3 billion in recovery payments for natural disasters that have already hit the country in the past few years is a warning that we cannot afford climate warming to continue.
Additional funding in the millions – not billions – is allocated to respond to climate change, including disaster preparedness, the national aerial firefighting fleet and disaster response resources. There is $450 million partnering with the US (Trump permitting) on a satellite program to gather data on natural disasters, climate change, and agricultural production.
The government will continue to hand out diesel fuel rebates costing $10 billion this year, and $44 billion over the next four years. Compare this to the $19.7 billion spend over 10 years (average $1.97b a year) on “Making Australia A Renewable Energy Superpower” with the focus on renewable hydrogen, low carbon liquid fuels, refining of critical minerals, solar and battery supply chains. The government’s hydrogen and mineral tax incentives (subsidies) are expected to cost $13.7 billion over more than a decade.
While $1.8 billion of further electricity bill rebates will provide temporary relief for households, they are not a substitute for action on climate change. The government must make commitments to subsidise rooftop solar, household batteries, electrification, and energy efficiency. Such measures will permanently lower power bills and slash climate pollution. A gas-fuelled transition is neither cheaper nor cleaner, nor is Dutton’s nuclear power with ongoing fossil fuels for decades to come.
As Climate Councillor and economist, Nicki Hutley, said: “Australians deserve long-term solutions that help permanently lower energy bills and climate pollution. We don’t have to choose between cost of living relief and climate action – we can and must address both together.”
“The climate crisis is negatively impacting all aspects of modern life, contributing to disruption of ecosystems, biodiversity and human societies through sea level rise, extreme weather events, desertification and changing weather patterns, and threatening food security, water, the economy, social cohesion and the well-being of humans and other living things. These impacts will escalate in the future,” the Greens warn. “The climate crisis requires us to seize the opportunity to transform Australia into a greenhouse gas-negative powerhouse that creates new jobs and a cleaner planet.”
The second half of the 2020s is critical to saving humanity and ecosystems. Energy companies must be nationalised enabling governments to control prices, transition to renewables, and phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
On 3 May, vote first for candidates who support strong measures to address climate change. Put conservatives and Coalition last.
