Renewables Investment Declines as Carbon Offsets Surge | Polly Hemming

Climate and energy policy in Australia is driving investment towards carbon credits of questionable integrity and away from investment in renewables and genuine decarbonisation of industry, our new research shows.

"The government is at a crossroads right now with the Safeguard Mechanism and other funds it's announced like the Powering the Regions Fund and the National Reconstruction Fund. Right now, the government could be saying we need real reductions. Offsetting is not enough. Even best case scenario, offsets only ever maintain the status quo."

Polly Hemming, Climate & Energy Program director joined ABC News to discuss.

[SW-lwmt]

Carbon offsets = Miner and farmer welfare. What a scam!

[locuus]

I'd really like to understand how the current renewable technology blueprint is going to be feasible, when it seems to require a massive uptick in mining globally, the manufacturing process itself is not green, and a lot of the minerals seemingly won't meet the demand for the longer term. And that also ignores the massive human and environmental exploitation to do so. From what I've seen its a very short term solution at best.

[hongimaster]

"Snowy Poo Point Oh" was a fantastic Freudian Slip

[mikejeffreys]

If renewables were cheaper, you would think investors would be absolutely piling into new investment

[PeterPutz]

Aus Institute needs to call out the elephant i the room. Politicians signing laws which benifit gas/mining/defence then taking million dollar jobs with those sectors weeks after leaving politics. In some cases lobbying and working for mining companies while in office. This is why decarbinisation abd investment in renewables has stalled, because mining/gas billionaire's told the politicians to do it.

[chrisruss]

Maybe smart money may not want to be too early mover in renewables.
Also solar and wind farms, pumped hydro and the like should pay for environmental offsets to make up for their habitat and wildlife destruction, except that doesn't really fix anything.
Time for compact reliable nuclear to have its day.

[NathanCroucher]

If i drive like a lunatic i get a $100 fine, i dont get a chq in the mail for $100 with a letter saying please slow down 🤨 Its gone fron a carbon "tax" to "credit" 🙃.Should do away with income tax altogether and just directly put the money into people super, where the more you have the more you get. End result is the same, just less BS.

[artyblartyfartblast]

To anyone who thinks carbon offsets is viable option, please watch season 4 of the Sopranos.

[jinnantonix]

The Australia Institute seems completely unaware of the crisis in energy reliability caused by the current rate of renewable uptake. Carbon offsets into the coal and gas industry is currently the only mechanism to keep the lights on. There is zero investment in batteries because they are too expensive and require huge subsidies, and Snowy Hydro 2 is massive white elephant, pumped hydro takes too long to deploy. So too, the transmission and distribution is a huge expense, and decades away from completion. Building more renewables is the wrong focus at this time to achieve decarbonisation. The Australia Institute know full well that direct decarbonisation means reducing production, which is a huge threat to jobs and prosperity. They know it will be disastrous. They don't care, because they will always just blame the government, or privatisation or capitalism.