This budget has delivered the pre-election promise of a solid start to unlocking the opportunities of a clean energy future. The key challenge remains to ensure that the climate policies and trading scheme due later this year has a strong 2020 target.  

Strong targets and policies will generate strong dividends from the trading scheme to invest in the shift to a clean energy future – ensuring all new electricity load generation is clean, incentives for developing countries and assistance to those worst affected.

It is disappointing that this budget fails to tackle perverse subsidies encouraging corporate gas guzzlers and greater use of polluting fuels, nor invested more in public transport ad energy efficiency.  These and other clean energy and affordability measures will be critical to next year’s budget.

This Budget does, however, represent a substantially improved investment in the opportunities of a clean energy future for Australia.  Positive measures include:
 
    * Increased investment support for promising clean energy – renewable and low emissions fossil fuel - technologies
    * Important new initiatives in energy efficiency
    * Greater support for adaptation to the impacts of climate change we won’t be able to avoid – on farms and places such as the reef
 
The Climate Institute welcomes this solid start to unlocking the opportunities of a clean energy future, but key decisions around the 2020 target, climate policies and the emissions trading scheme are yet to be made.

We will be releasing a more detailed media state