Prime Minister Anthony Albanese doubles down on renewables and net zero in National Press Club address
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will reaffirm his commitment to renewable energy and net zero targets in his National Press Club address on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese will deliver his first speech to the press club after being re-elected as Prime Minister of the 48th Parliament of Australia at around 12.30pm.
He has outlined his agenda—focusing on housing, healthcare, education, cost of living relief and renewable energy—in an excerpt of his speech provided to Sky News.
SkyNews.com.au will stream Mr Albanese's National Press Club address live at 12.30pm AEST.
Mr Albanese will say the path to net zero must be grounded in delivery, not ideology, and stress the importance of seizing the economic opportunity of the global shift to clean energy.
He has described his vision of the future, 'where we realise our potential as a renewable energy superpower'.
'We are working to meet the environmental challenges of climate change and seize the economic opportunities of renewable energy,' Mr Albanese will say.
'We have legislated our 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 and our commitment to Net Zero by 2050.
'We are delivering our energy policy – renewables, backed by gas, batteries and hydro.'
The comments come as political pressure mounts over the mounting cost of the government's climate policy.
New analysis from the Institute of Public Affairs revealed that annual federal spending on climate and net zero programs has soared to about $9 billion.
IPA deputy executive director Adam Creighton described the scale of climate-related spending as 'ridiculous'.
'Decades of poor decision making, based on flawed and misleading advice and ideology, is crushing… household budgets,' he said.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has repeatedly argued that renewables remain the 'cheapest and cleanest' source of power.
The Australian Energy Regulator's default market offer has risen by up to 50 per cent in parts of the country since 2022.
Neither Mr Bowen nor Mr Albanese have conceded their 2022 election promise to lower household power bills by $275 has not been met.
The government's clean energy transition has also drawn criticism from the Greens following its decision to approve the extension of the North West Shelf gas project.
'You can't have renewables unless you have firming capacity. You don't change a transition through warm thoughts,' Mr Albanese said of the decision.
The extension of the gas project was made under the existing Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The EPBC does not require consideration of a project's climate impact.
Despite long-flagged reforms to the EPBC Act, Sky News understands the government has decided not to include a climate trigger as part of the update, rejecting calls from the Greens.
Greens leader Larissa Waters slammed the gas approval, saying it 'totally undermines the government's commitment to net zero by 2050'.
Despite criticism from activists, Mr Albanese maintained the transition must be done responsibly and with a clear-eyed understanding of the challenges ahead.
'Our government's vision and ambition for Australia's future was never dependent on the size of our majority,' he will say in his Press Club speech.
'But you can only build for that future vision if you build confidence that you can deliver on urgent necessities.'
He said Australia's mix of natural resources, a skilled workforce and geopolitical stability made it the best place in the world to lead the net zero transition.
'When you consider the resources and energy and technology that a world moving to Net Zero needs… there is nowhere else you would rather be than right here in Australia,' he said.
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