South Australia’s experience contradicts Coalition emissions scare campaign

Ahead of Saturday’s federal election the Coalition has latched onto economic modelling claiming Labor’s target of a 45% emissions reduction would cost the economy as much as A$187 billion in 2030.

There is a lack of discernment in reporting
research results on carbon reduction targets.

The modelling released by BAEconomics contrasts strikingly with 22 different reports, many peer-reviewed, which all indicate a far lower economic cost to moving Australia’s energy mix towards renewables.

Labor’s own costings, released last Friday, show a substantially smaller cost to its emissions reduction plan.

But, beyond reports, the example of South Australia is a real-world rebuke to the credibility of BAEconomic’s conclusions. SA has already moved substantially towards Labor’s 2030 target by generating 50% of electricity from renewables and proven its ability to deal with heatwaves that caused mass blackouts in Victoria earlier this year – without breaking the bank.

Read the story from The Conversation by a Professorial Fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies and IMPACT Project from the Victoria University, Glyn Wittwer - “South Australia’s experience contradicts Coalition emissions scare campaign.”