ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has called the Federal Budget a missed opportunity for climate action, despite allocating nearly $250 million over five years to low emissions technologies.

“Despite all the television advertisements and rhetoric of their credentials on climate action, the conservative Liberal Government have once again failed to take real action to support the move to net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” Mr Barr stated.

The Budget, the Clean Energy Council stated, provides little investment to help Australia transition to renewable energy, and reduces funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Expenses under the Renewable Energy component, the Budget states, will decrease by 1.3 per cent in real terms from 2021–22 to 2022–23, and by 15.3 per cent from 2022-23 to 2025–26 – reflecting, the Budget states, less funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

“The heavy lifting on supporting the nation in the transition to a lower emissions future will continue to fall to state and territory governments of all political persuasions,” Mr Barr said.

“This Budget was the latest in a long line of missed opportunities for the Commonwealth to partner with the States and Territories on this urgent priority for the majority of Australians.”

University of Canberra politics expert Dr John Hawkins noted there was little mention of climate change in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s speech, “other than a repeat of the Government’s glib three-word slogan of ‘technology, not taxes’, ignoring that a carbon price would provide the incentive for both developing and adopting the technology. Cutting petrol taxes” – the government plans to halve the petrol excise – “is going in the opposite direction.”

Tim Hollo, ACT Greens candidate for Canberra, said the Morrison government was giving more than $37.6 billion to coal, oil, and gas corporations, including new money to frack First Nations land in the Beetaloo Basin and build new gas pipelines, while cutting spending on climate solutions by 35 per cent.

“This Budget makes the climate crisis worse, gives the least to those most in need and the most to the already wealthy, and does nothing to improve the dire state of our democracy,” Mr Hollo said.

“Meanwhile it has no allocations for an anti-corruption commission or any other integrity measures, it makes housing more expensive, and it does nothing to raise wages, make childcare free, or properly fund our public schools.”

However, the Budget allocates nearly $250 million over five years to low emissions technologies, and $148.6 million over five years to encourage investment in affordable and renewable power (including $84 million for community microgrid projects in regional and rural Australia).

The Budget also provides $10 billion to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in renewable energy, low emissions technology, and energy efficiency projects. The CEFC will also administer a $1 billion Grid Reliability Fund to invest in new energy generation, storage, and transmission infrastructure, and (with the private sector) establish a $1 billion Low Emissions Technology Commercialisation Fund.

The Budget’s big environmental announcement is $1 billion more for the Great Barrier Reef, to make it climate resilient, remove pest species, and improve the reef’s water quality.

Independent Senate candidate David Pocock said it was “truly astounding that faced with the need to improve our disaster resilience while at the same cutting people’s energy costs, the government is instead stripping funding from the clean and renewable energy agencies”.

“The government is passing up the opportunity to save households as much as $5,000 a year on their energy costs, and doing nothing to make things like electric vehicles more affordable.”

For more Budget news:

• Plans to move APS agencies out of ACT concerning: Andrew Barr
• Budget leaves ACT behind on infrastructure, says Chief Minister
• The Federal Budget: Easing the cost of living?
• The Budget: a plan for a stronger future or an election campaign?

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