"The Government's sensible decision to recapitalise the Clean Energy Finance Corporation will make it easier for many industries to seize opportunities to save energy and emissions, and underscores what can be done when climate policy measures endure with broad support," said Innes Willox, Chief Executive of national employer association Ai Group.
"The CEFC originated in negotiations of the Gillard minority Government, but in time it was embraced by the former Federal Coalition Government based on its track record of scaling and normalising clean energy investments and delivering returns to the public purse. Experience and capacity made CEFC the obvious administrator to get the current Government Rewiring the Nation transmission fund up and running faster.
"Now CEFC's core operations – lending, investing and coordinating to scale up the deployment of clean technologies across energy, industry, the built environment and more – is getting expanded capital. That is timely.
"While Australia has a lot of opportunity to grow our prosperity in the move to net zero, this will take huge cumulative investment in businesses of all sizes – and often involve technologies unfamiliar to local industry and the finance sector. De-risking the next wave of clean techs makes as much sense now as de-risking wind and solar did thirteen years ago.
"The CEFC has endured in part because it has been effective. But it has been effective in large part because it has endured – building the capability and credibility to make it a reliable partner for industry and private finance.
"Australia has had more than its fill of upheaval and sudden reversals in climate and energy policy, to our great cost.
"With an election looming and where arguments on this issues will again be fierce, it's good to be reminded how well climate initiatives can work when they have broad support across political divides," Mr Willox said.
