Published at The Conversation, Wednesday 13 May
See full article: Federal Budget 2015 – environment experts react
There were few, if any, expectations of initiatives for the energy sector in the Budget – and those expectations were met. Energy policy levers, where they have been pulled, are covered in the recent Energy White Paper even as that document failed to provide a long-term vision for energy policy in Australia.
There were also no new initiatives regarding climate change. Environment minister Greg Hunt has previously made it clear there would be no increase in the budget allocation to the Emissions Reduction Fund and it remains to be seen whether his optimism regarding achieving our current 2020 target is justified.
Finally, the prospects for future negative impacts on export revenue that could arise if the world turns against fossil fuels remain ignored, but anyway are beyond the time horizon of federal budget considerations.
