Will, not ways and means, is the issue

THE recent report by the Climate Institute, The Top Ten Tipping Points on Climate Change, illustrates that much of the world is preparing for the carbon constraints of the future.
Many nations have, or are developing, policies that will ensure continued economic prosperity and development, without increasing their greenhouse gas emissions. But the report also states that Australia is at risk of being left behind because of a reluctance to adapt its economy and reform its energy markets today in preparation for the carbon crunch of tomorrow.
Contrary to the prevailing view, Australia could easily switch to existing, clean, reliable energy, starting now, without costly inquiries or risking it all on a single technology.
Even better, the switch could be made while improving competitiveness, making supply more secure and creating jobs; and without having to huddle in the dark with candles or sacrifice our standard of living.
Renewable technologies such as bio-energy, solar photovoltaics, hydro-electricity, wind, solar and thermal are proven, long-term sources of zero-emission power. Yet investment in them is stalling in Australia.
Under the Australian Government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target, greenhouse gases have been abated. The program has delivered $3 billion of investment in new energy projects in just seven years. But MRET's modest target of 9500 gigawatt hours of electricity from renewable sources (2 per cent of the market) by 2010 has already been reached, and investment in large renewable energy projects and technologies is almost at a standstill.
Then there's gas-fired generation. Australia has vast, economic and commercially viable reserves of low-emission natural gas — 2500 billion cubic metres — that could supply Australians with electricity that has only 30 per cent of the emissions of coal.
Increasingly, many other countries committed to reducing their emissions, particularly in Europe, are turning to gas-fired generation to meet their growing energy needs. Yet, Australia's use of gas for electricity is low: it comprises just 14 per cent of Australia's power generation, compared with coal's 77 per cent and renewables' 9 per cent.
Finally, the simplest and most cost-effective way of cutting our greenhouse gas emissions is energy efficiency. Often overlooked, energy efficiency can dramatically reduce emissions and reduce energy costs.
It is not possible to overstate the environmental and economic potential of energy efficiency.
Research commissioned by the state and federal governments has found that by implementing energy efficiency improvements with a payback period of just four years, Australia's mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and construction companies could reduce their energy consumption by 20-40 per cent.
The research also found that the residential and commercial sectors could reduce their energy consumption by 30-70 per cent.
What is required is a mix of technologies — which may include future technologies such as cleaner coal — but we will no doubt rely heavily on technologies ready today: biomass, solar, wind, hydro and natural gas, as well as ensuring the efficient use of the energy we have.
We need technologies that are internationally competitive, cost-effective in the long term and can future-proof the Australian economy. They can create a thriving and sustainable industry base and, perhaps most importantly, they are ready to be deployed now.
Peter Szental is the president of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy.