THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT must be stopped from using Australia’s clean energy agencies to fund dirty fossil fuel projects, according to the former chair of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

A leaked draft of the Federal Government’s ‘Technology Investment Roadmap’ has revealed plans to change the remit of both the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and ARENA, to allow them to fund gas projects as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

“The Government’s move to change the remit of both the CEFC and ARENA shows how desperate it is to support the gas industry. Rather than focussing on past technologies, the Government should be driving for a cleaner future”, said Climate Councillor and former ARENA Chair, Greg Bourne.

“Only a renewables-led future makes economic sense. Propping up failing fossil fuels and commercially non-viable technologies like CCS is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.

The CEFC is a public bank designed to support investment in new clean industries and renewable power, while ARENA exists to facilitate innovation and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies.

“Australia does not need any new polluting fossil fuels. Coal and gas are expensive, polluting and a poor public investment,” said Mr Bourne.

The Climate Council’s recently released Clean Jobs Plan shows we can create 76,000 jobs in the short term, while setting Australia up for the future and tackling long-term problems like climate change.

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