Environment Minister Robert Hill said that renewable energy is the global key to long-term greenhouse emission reductions.
"At last reckoning, energy generation accounted for over 220 million tonnes or just under half of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. For that reason the energy sector remains the major focus of our response activity.
"Today's announcement by the Prime Minister includes a target for retailers and major wholesale purchasers of electricity to source an additional 2 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010. These sources include photovoltaics, biomass, solar hot water, wind or other emerging technologies.
"On current projections, renewable energy was expected to decline as a share of Australian energy supply. This package will not just halt that slide but will lead to a growth in the share of renewables. By encouraging the growth of renewable technologies now, Australia will be in a position to progressively increase the share of renewable energy beyond 2010."
Unfortunately, the evidence points to a downward trend in renewable energy use, as a percentage of total energy generation, and in solar generation as a percentage of world production.
(Source: The Weekend Australian Magazine, March 3-4 2007)
