AUSTRALIA SETS 20 BY ’20 GOAL

Australia targets 20% renewable energy by 2020
August 20, 2009 (AFP)

"Australia… passed a clean energy law requiring the country to produce 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020 in a move that could draw billions of dollars of green investment.

"The Australian senate passed the government-sponsored bill just days after parliament rejected further-reaching but controversial legislation aimed at slashing carbon emissions…"

The new targets will drive lots of New Energy growth and therefore lots of emissions reductions AND...(click to enlarge)

"Electricity companies will now be forced to buy a portion of their power from renewable sources under the laws, which passed without opposition after being split from the controversial emissions trading bill…

"Origin Energy, Australia's largest green energy provider, welcomed the renewable energy laws but said they were a poor second to the tougher carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS) proposed under the emissions bill…"

...will have little impact on energy prices. (click to enlarge)

"[Austalian deputy minister for climate change Greg] Combet warned that without the CPRS emissions would be 20 percent higher in 2020 than they were in 2000…

"The conservative opposition joined forces with the Greens and independents in the senate earlier this week to reject the combined renewables-emissions bill, which aims to cut carbon pollution by five to 25 percent by 2020…[Then the] Greens supported the separate renewable energy plan despite failing in a bid to have the target lifted from 20 to 30 percent."