Scientists have shown that Australia will be one of the developed countries hit first and worst by climate change.
The good news is that Australia has some of the best clean energy resources in the world, like solar, wind and geothermal – better than most of our competitors. It’s in our national interest to take advantage of this, and use the technologies that are available now, with resources that will last forever.
Australia’s new carbon laws introduced in July 2012 has kick-started the transition to a clean energy economy for Australia, already helping to drive down emissions in the energy sector, which were down by 8.6% in the first six months of the carbon price! It works because it provides a real incentive for big polluters to cut their pollution and clean up their act.
Pricing pollution will create thousands of new, clean technology jobs around the country. It will replace our dirtiest power stations like Hazelwood with clean, reliable energy for the future. It will help bring online new energy sources like solar power stations in Mildura, and make it cheaper for households, schools and church halls across the country to put solar panels on their roofs.
Australians can achieve great things when we put our minds to it. We built the Snowy Mountain Scheme. Our inventions such as the bionic ear have changed lives across the globe. We have noble prize winning scientists, world leading entrepreneurs and one of the strongest economies on earth. And now we can add the carbon price to that list of achievements.