Integration of energy and climate change policy critical for investment certainty

Investors with more than $2 trillion in assets under management have expressed dismay at the sidelining of emissions reduction policy in Australia.

“Today’s decision to shelve the implementation of emissions reduction targets under the National Energy Guarantee has serious repercussions for investment in the energy sector in Australia”, said Emma Herd, Chief Executive Officer of the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC).

“For the National Energy Guarantee to deliver investment certainty it must include an obligation to reduce emissions. To provide the confidence necessary to bring investment back into the electricity sector, energy and climate policy must be integrated together”.

“A lack of clarity on the emissions reduction pathway is at the heart of the investment strike in the energy sector. A NEG without emissions reduction targets will further undermine the establishment of a credible, scalable, and enduring energy and climate policy framework”.