In May 2014 when the previous Napthine government announced it would close the Victorian Energy Efficient Target (VEET) scheme, thousands of Victorians stood up to declare their support for this successful scheme that was saving Victorians money on their bills, creating jobs and cutting greenhouse emissions.
And it worked. The then Labor Opposition promised that if it won office, it would retain the scheme and undertake a review to strengthen VEET even further.
That review is now underway, and we have a great opportunity to make sure VEET continues to drive the investment in energy efficiency that Victoria needs to build a thriving, fair and sustainable economy for the 21st century.
The submission period has now closed and the government is expected to make a decision on a new target within the next few months. News flash: Increased targets announced August 2015
Environment Victoria has been closely involved in the review and has made a written submission here.
In essence, what it says is:
- Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings is one of the most cost-effective ways to cut Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency also creates jobs and delivers a range of health benefits particularly for vulnerable groups.
- We want a target that is as ambitious as possible. The modelling done for the review shows that the highest target (at least 6.2 Mt/yr) is delivering the highest benefits – so that’s the one we want!
- We want some practical changes to address the barriers preventing low-income households from accessing the benefits of energy efficiency (lower bills and more comfortable homes). These include assistance with up-front costs of more expensive measures (like efficient appliances) and minimum energy efficiency standards for rental houses.
- We want measures that will have a big impact on saving energy, cutting bills and creating jobs (particularly ceiling insulation and commercial lighting upgrades) included in the scheme, and
- We want a greater focus on comprehensive ‘whole of house’ retrofits which save time and money by identifying the best mix of efficiency measures for each house.
And thanks to the response we got when we asked Environment Victoria supporters to join us by making their own submission to the review, we are hopeful of getting a good result – for VEET and for Victoria.
We’ll keep you posted.