Australia sets "green" target

       Australia yesterday passed a clean energy law requiring the country to produce 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2020 in a move that could draw billions of dollars in green investment.
       The Australian senate passed the government-sponsored bill just days after parliament rejected furtherreaching but controversial legislation aimed at slashing carbon emissions.
       "This is an extremely important achievement and it is one of the key institutional changes in the battle that the government is undertaking to deal with climate change," said Greg Combet,deputy minister for climate change.
       "The passage of the legislation will help unlock investment in renewable energy generation and of course in jobs associated with those industries in areas like solar and wind power, amongst others," Combet told parliament.
       While the lower house has passed the bill, it will return there for approval on a few minor technical changes before formally becoming law.
       Electricity companies will now be forced to buy a portion of their power from renewable sources under the laws,which passed without opposition after being split from the controversial emissions trading bill on Sunday.
       Origin Energy, Australia's largest green energy provider, welcomed the renewable energy laws but said they were a poor second to the tougher carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS)proposed under the emissions bill.
       "In the longer term, the CPRS is the lowest-cost way to drive investment in cleaner technologies," said Origin executive general manager Carl McCamish."We encourage all political parties to negotiate a workable agreement to ensure that the CPRS is passed as soon as possible."
       Combet warned that without the CPRS, emissions would be 20% higher in 2020 than they were in 2000.
       "It is the principal mechanism by which we will go ahead to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country and play a constructive role in international negotiations over climate change," he said.
       The conservative opposition joined forces with the Greens and independents in the senate earlier this week to reject the combined renewables-emissions bill, which aims to cut carbon pollution by five to 25% by 2020.
       The Greens supported the separate renewable energy plan despite failing in a bid to have the target for renewables lifted from 20% to 30%.
       Greens Senator Christine Milne said the bill's passage showed the centreleft Labor government was willing to change its emissions trading plan to get it through parliament ahead of UN climate talks in Copenhagen.
       If Labor reintroduces the plan after three months and the Senate again rejects it, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could call an early election ahead of the late 2010 deadline.
       But Rudd, who is riding high in opinion polls, has said he does not have the "slightest intention" of going to an early vote, and this week warned the Senate risked damaging Australia's economy if it again rejected the scheme.
       Rudd, who won office in 2007 on a strongly green platform, has described climate change as "the greatest moral challenge of our generation" for Australia, which is in the grip of the worst drought in a century.