From Cosmos (9/11/23)...
“The market’s decided” say climate, energy leaders
Climate and energy ministers have acknowledged the need to obtain social licence when implementing new electricity generation infrastructure, but say the market has already charted its future.
And that’s renewable, says Australia’s climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen, who spoke at the Future Energy conference at the Tonsley Innovation precinct in Adelaide on Wednesday.
“Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy available today, even including the storage and transmission costs. It’s actually the cheapest form of energy that’s ever been available to humankind,” Bowen said.
That view was echoed by Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia’s mining and energy minister, who spoke at length on his state’s efforts to decarbonise. About 70% of SA’s energy is renewably sourced.
“Whatever your views are on climate change, there’s one thing that’s clear, the market has decided… international monetary markets have decided climate change is real, carbon abatement is part of their core business,” Koutsantonis said.