Commentary
Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen left the country over the weekend to attend COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, a gorgeous location on Egypt’s Red Sea.
Setting aside a huge carbon footprint just to get there, presiding over the steepest rise in energy prices since records began is a big deal for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as Bowen deals with the crisis. It would have been considered enough of a headache to warrant staying home to do so. Remember, Albanese was elected on a promise to cut your electricity bill by $275 (US$176) a year.
Even Greta Thunberg has a wide range at COP27 this year.
as Nick Cater wrote to The Australianworkers should be looking for Plan B.
But the government’s insistence on sticking to the path set before the renewables disguise was exposed in Europe is extremely reckless.
Cater is clear that the “Putin ate his homework” excuse won’t last long. Also, Bowen’s promise to lower prices by installing 22,000 solar panels a day and 40 wind turbines per month over the next eight years is not kept.
Cater adds: Nor do we pay attention to the skyrocketing prices of steel, copper, lithium and other minerals needed to manufacture and connect solar, wind and battery power. “
This wouldn’t be the first time.
For example, let’s go back to 2008. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the time had the highest number of polls in history. His treasurer aide was Chris Bowen, and his brilliant plan to curb cost-of-living pressures was “Grocery Watch.”
It was an unmitigated disaster on every level and was shelved within months. For many, it was the beginning of the end for Rudd.
Australians struggle daily with rising energy costs
Bowen, as Minister of Energy, is now either misguided or ignorant of policies related to nuclear energy and electric vehicles that will have a devastating impact on Australians.
On nuclear energy, Bowen argued that it would push up electricity prices and crowd out cheaper and cleaner technologies, adding that those who try to make that claim “perpetuate the climate war.”
If the facts aren’t on your side, there’s no such thing as emotional language to argue with.
Ask anyone in the UK and Europe how renewable energy is helping them. Electricity prices have increased at least five times over the past year. Energy distribution is looming across the continent, just in time for winter.
Germany, once a leader in renewable energy, is rushing to restart coal and nuclear power plants just to minimize the damage. Japan has withdrawn a moratorium on nuclear power plants that was put in place after the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Moreover, according to the International Energy Agency, nuclear power plants are one of the most cost-effective investment opportunities for low-carbon power generation, as Australian businessman Maurice Newman recently pointed out in The Daily Telegraph. .
Indeed, there is growing evidence that Australia may have been able to price nuclear power competitively well before 2030. Building a small modular reactorimportantly, especially useful in remote communities.
Another of Bowen’s ventures, electric vehicles, was recently announced in California, which will ban the sale of all new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
Days after that announcement, Californians were told to “avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles” due to power shortages.
In addition, EV battery manufacturing emits more CO2 compared to conventional vehicles.
For Australians who struggle to put food on the table every day, the Albanian government’s energy policy is no laughing matter.
Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Epoch Times.
follow
Rocco Loiacono is a senior lecturer and Italian to English translator at Curtin University Law School in Perth, Australia. His research in translation, linguistics and law has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals.