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EEC welcomes multi-party commitment to energy efficiency 27 April 2016

The Energy Efficiency Council has welcomed the ALP’s Climate Change Action Plan and their commitment to double energy productivity.

“With the ALP committing to double energy productivity in Australia (the amount of GDP per unit of energy), all major parties have now made serious commitments to improve energy efficiency,” said Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council.

The Coalition have set a target to improve energy productivity by 40 per cent by 2030, and the ALP and the Greens have set targets to double energy productivity by 2030. All of these targets represent a major leap in energy efficiency that will require serious policies.

“We congratulate the ALP, Coalition and Greens on making major commitments to improve Australia’s energy productivity, and look forward to working with all parties after the election to deliver real results for Australia,” said Luke Menzel.

Greater energy efficiency in our homes, workplaces and transport systems will:

  • Create jobs and attract investment. The global market for energy efficiency services and products is over US$350 million per annum and growing rapidly. California has aggressively sought a slice of this global market, and now has over 300,000 people in energy efficiency jobs.
  • Boost productivity and grow the economy. Improving Australia’s energy efficiency by just 1 per cent a year would boost the economy by $26 billion by 2030.
  • Lower energy bills
  • Cut greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency is critical to support the transformation of our energy sector, and can deliver over 50 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas targets.
  • Improve health. With an estimated 3,000 Australians dying each year during extremes of heat and cold, improving the quality of our buildings will make them safer and more comfortable.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

For further information or interview opportunities, please contact the EEC's Head of Policy, Rob Murray-Leach at media@eec.org.au.