Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction, believes a new national energy policy is a positive step that will help transform Australia’s energy sector and deliver a 100 per cent renewable, zero emissions energy grid – but action is urgent.

Australian Energy Ministers today agreed to include “emissions reduction” as a new objective into national energy laws, including the National Electricity Objective (NEO).

“The NEO is fundamental to the rules that shape the electricity market,” Mr Rattenbury said. “By making emissions reduction one of the key objectives in the NEO, we’ve empowered market bodies and other actors to make rules and regulatory decisions that facilitate an orderly transition to a 100 per cent renewable and zero emissions future.

“We need to act quickly if we are to have any chance of meeting Australia’s net zero emissions by 2050 target. The previous Federal Government delayed this necessary work for ten years, wasting precious time.

“Despite the lack of support by the former Federal Energy Minister, last September it was agreed that the ACT would bring forward a paper proposing these changes to the NEO, prepared jointly with the Queensland Government and Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni.

“The proposed changes were agreed unanimously today.

“I would like to extend my thanks to Minister de Brenni for his support on this issue and his involvement in progressing this proposal. Now we can get on with the job of cutting emissions from our electricity sector and building a zero-emissions energy future.

“These changes will be the first step in the new National Energy Transformation Partnership that will coordinate actions to respond to the challenges and manage and the transformation to a national net zero emissions energy sector.

“For the past decade, advocates and environmental organisations have been calling for these changes. Thanks to their continued advocacy, emissions reduction will finally be prioritised in energy decisions, helping to deliver a cleaner and more responsible energy supply for the nation.”