Victoria, Australia: The Victorian Government’s Climate Change White Paper, ‘Taking Action for Victoria’s Future’, is ambitious and predicated on certain assumptions, including a carbon price.

“This is an ambitious plan and underlines that tackling climate change can’t be achieved with a silver bullet,” says VECCI CEO Wayne Kayler-Thomson.

“Several initiatives target renewable energy investment and expansion which will underpin a shift to cleaner energy sources.

“Based on past experience, the capacity to deliver on energy investment initiatives in solar particularly has been compromised and we look forward to understanding more on the difference in the new proposals.

“We are pleased, however, that there is a commitment to pursue carbon storage, to assist the adjustment in the Latrobe Valley and to address grid connection issues for renewable energy.

“We have already welcomed the expansion of the Energy Saver Incentive Scheme to Victorian small businesses.

“The expansion of the scheme has merit in terms of energy efficiency goals but must be complemented by the removal of a number of administrative barriers.

“The Government and energy industry must work closely with industry and business sectors to ensure this is well managed.

“VECCI considers that further research and analysis is vital to ensure the scheme is properly delivered and managed to the benefit of SMEs.

“We are pleased to see a commitment to red-tape reduction continuing through the streamlined ‘Green Door’ approvals process for renewable energy projects.

“Almost conversely, however, we are concerned about the proposal to expand the Environment and Resource Efficiency Plans (EREP) which would add to an existing reporting burden, increasing cost to business, and largely duplicate the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme,” says Mr Kayler-Thomson.

Source: http://www.vecci.org.au/news/Pages/Victorian_Climate_Change_WhitePaper.aspx