Greens announce ‘Sun Fund’
Posted by mcarthurriver on October 14, 2007
Posted
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/04/2050677.htm?site=nt
Greens climate change spokeswoman Senator Christine Milne has told a national solar conference in Alice Springs, a $3 billion independent Sun Fund would be set up.
She says the plan would shift the Federal Government’s subsidies for the coal and nuclear industries to the research and development of technologies including solar and geothermal power.
“Because renewable energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions right now,” she said.
“So-called clean coal, oxymoron coal if it ever works is at least 15 years away. Nuclear is too expensive, too slow and too dangerous.”
Senator Milne says the independently-administered fund would address the stop-start nature of funding to the renewable energy sector, which she says has struggled to get off the ground because of the Government’s apathy.
She says the policy is designed to set Australia up to meet its target of 25 per cent renewable energy by 2020 and is capable of reducing emissions by 32 million tonnes a year in the same time frame.
Senator Milne says the policy will stop the brain drain of renewable energy experts overseas.
She says the Greens want to restore Australia as a world leader in renewable energy.
“We are losing the potential for manufacturing these technologies and for the intellectual property that we could then have as technological transfer around the world,” she said.
“This is an opportunity to boost the manufacturing sector and the skills base in Australia as well as deal with climate change.”
