On Background: Is Australia’s energy transition on track?

Barely a week goes by when the great energy transition isn’t making news of some sort. This week the government announced feasibility licences for a bunch of developers to work on plans for Australia’s first offshore wind zone in waters off Gippsland in Victoria.

At the same time, Energy Minister Chris Bowen was talking up the need to seek new supplies of gas to support renewables. The government’s been making all sorts of announcements under its new Future Made in Australia policy – to subsidise the local manufacturing of solar panels and other green technology. While the Coalition continues to talk up its plans for nuclear energy – even if it’s unclear when those actual plans will be unveiled or whether the opposition will make any sort of commitment to a new emissions target. And this week we also saw a concerning report from the Grattan Institute – warning the great energy transition is “not going well”. So – are we on the right track? And how bumpy is it likely to get?

David Speers interviews Kerry Schott, chair of the Carbon Market Institute and AGL board member, among many things, in the latest episode of Insiders: On Background.