Coal mines and electric vehicles may have dominated electioneering on energy to date. But there’s a big opportunity hiding in plain sight to help Australia meet its emissions reduction targets while saving energy costs for households and businesses.
Much of Australia’s energy debate has focused on the supply side – poles, wires, coal, wind, solar and the like. But not enough attention is paid to the demand side which, with the right policy settings and incentives, can produce just as meaningful cost savings and emissions reductions.
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council has laid it out in black and white. Our built environment contributes around 23 per cent of Australia’s total emissions. Taking action to achieve greater energy efficiency in our residential and commercial buildings could cut emissions while saving Australian households and businesses more than $20 billion by 2030.
While there is a lot the industry is achieving on its own, it makes sense for governments to incentivise further action. It’s smart policy to focus on the least-cost abatement opportunities in the economy and many of these are in the built environment.
An affordable and sustainable energy roadmap is one of the five points in our federal election platform. We are calling on the major parties to work with our industry to help shape an energy future that is affordable, reliable and sustainable.
It’s a tangible set of initiatives that is good for the bottom line and good for the planet.