International Energy Agency backs Australia’s progressive energy policies

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its in-depth review of Australia’s energy policies and has confirmed that we are well placed to meet domestic and regional energy challenges.

The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP, hosted the release of the ‘In depth review of Australian energy policies’ with the Executive Director of the IEA, Maria van der Hoeven, with a special presentation at Parliament House.

“The In depth review highlights the considerable changes in Australia’s energy policies over the past five years, including the implementation of a comprehensive package of clean energy proposals,” Minister Ferguson said.

The IEA commended Australia for its commitment to the development of carbon capture and storage, the level of transparency in the carbon pricing mechanism and the commitment to release an Energy White Paper every four years.

Minister Ferguson welcomed the release of the In depth review, which includes the IEA’s examination of Australia’s energy-efficiency policies.

“The Australian Government’s innovative Energy Efficiency Opportunities program has been internationally recognised while our Minimum Energy Performance Standards has been described by the IEA as exemplary.”

The IEA, through the recently released World Energy Outlook (WEO), highlights the importance of energy efficiency if the world is to move towards a more sustainable footing. The WEO finds that there are still significant untapped opportunities to improve global energy efficiency, with four-fifths of the potential in the buildings sector and more than half in industry not yet realised.

“Australia has demonstrated through programs such as the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program that to unlock this potential, energy efficiency needs to be integrated into business decision making,” Minister Ferguson said.

“This is being achieved through the EEO program, where Australia’s biggest energy users are implementing projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, worth up to a total of $800 million a year in saved energy costs.

“The government’s Clean Energy Future package and recently released Energy White Paper provide a long-term plan for driving investment in energy efficiency, renewables and clean energy technologies and is helping Australia to be a global leader in transitioning to a low-carbon future.”