Renewable investors push for climate impacts in new environment laws
The Clean Energy Investor Group has split from the broader business lobby, urging environmental approvers to factor climate impacts into their decisions.
The Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG) will push Environment Minister Murray Watt to tweak updated environment laws to factor in renewable energy project benefits on the eve of their debut in parliament.
CEIG CEO Richie Merzian told Capital Brief the group wants a framework to force project approvers to take climate impacts into account even though Watt last week ruled out a “climate trigger” from the draft Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, which industry groups have seen.
“We've shared these views with the Coalition, the Greens, and the government. It’s for the government to decide where it wants to negotiate and seek support, but we're making sure that the renewables industry, which is doing heavy lifting to get us to our 2035 and net zero targets, has a strong voice," he said.
“We want to see recognition for the net benefit that renewable energy projects will deliver as a tangible climate solution, and we're not finding any element of the Samuel Review or the act that sufficiently accounts for that,” Merzian added.
