Mark Vender
The Australian federal government has kicked off work to develop a National Energy Performance Strategy.
The announcement was made by Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Jenny McAllister at the 2022 Energy Efficiency Summit in Sydney.
“For too long, Australia’s efforts at reducing emissions and cutting energy costs have lacked a national plan that will deliver a high energy performance economy,” said McAllister.
“As we work to deliver secure and affordable low-emissions energy supply, we need to accelerate demand-side action to support an efficient, least-cost pathway through the energy transformation.
“So much of the energy Australians pay for every year is wasted on inefficiency.”
According to Minister for Climate and Energy Chris Bowen, energy-efficiency policies driven by a national strategy will cut energy costs for households and businesses, reduce pressure on the energy system, and help Australia meet emissions-reduction goals.
Australia lags behind international counterparts on energy efficiency and performance. The Climate Change Performance Index (CPPI), an independent monitoring tool presented at the annual UN Climate Change Conference, ranks Australia 59 out of 64 countries for energy performance per capita.
In fact, Australia was declared the “loser” of CPPI 2022, receiving very low ratings in every category: GHG emissions, renewable energy, energy use, and climate policy.
The government notes that the EU has been progressively strengthening its energy-efficiency targets to reduce costs and meet its 2030 emissions reduction goals. Regionally, countries such as South Korea and Japan are pursuing similar actions.
“We’re acting to put in place a strategy that will help us create a high-energy-performance economy, meet our emissions-reduction targets, and enable us to put downward pressure on energy prices,” McAllister said.
“And we’re doing this important work in consultation with state and territory governments, businesses, households and community groups across the nation.”
A discussion paper on how to deliver energy-efficiency improvements across the economy and help Australia meet its emissions-reduction targets will be released in the coming weeks.
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
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