But Until Then...

Why Is This Plan the Best Course of Action?

It’s Cost Effective:

--Renewables are on a more rapid descent into price competitiveness than most people realise. In a rationally-priced market, renewables are now cheaper now than fossil fuels for most forward planning of new capacity. Acknowledging this reality will speed solution of the global warming problem.
--A transparent system of carbon pricing will pay for itself. It raises energy efficiency in the economy. It yields revenue that can be recycled into clean energy research and development and intellectual property creation. It builds a reserve against future climate disasters.
--It lets the market choose the cheapest and cleanest energy source

It Results in a National Brain Gain

--Australia will become both an energy superpower and natural laboratory, and thus a magnet for brains.
--By developing renewables, Australia will create new industries to pursue when coal and nuclear become obsolete
--It puts Australia at the forefront of the emerging Hydrogen Economy

It Strengthens Australia’s Economy

--It increases exports and reduces the trade deficit
--Australia benefits from exporting coal and gas now, and renewable energy expertise later, a two-for-one deal.
--Foreigners partially underwrite the decarbonization of the Australian economy, given Australia a free ride
--It will give Australia a role in emerging carbon trading markets, a rapidly growing part of the global economy

It Reduces Military Conflict Risk

--The US already has engaged in two gulf wars over oil. Do we really need more of those?
Using converse logic, if the two gulf wars weren't about oil,
...but were strictly humanitarian, why didn’t the US intervene in Rwanda?
...but were only about stopping Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, why hasn’t the US intervened in Zimbabwe?
...but were only about spreading democracy, why hasn’t the US invaded Burma?
--Australia is currently spending about A$600 million a year on military operations in Iraq. This is money better spent elsewhere, specifically on energy alternatives that lessen the need for intervention in oil-rich countries to ensure supplies

It Reduces Global Risks of Nuclear Proliferation

--By keeping nuclear materials at home, closing the nuclear cycle, and exporting only value-added hydrogen
It speeds the shift to renewables by having Australia play its role as an energy superpower responsibly.
It reduces risks of out of control climate change and the economic, political and social costs of that

It Gives The Public A Stake InThe Decision-Making Process
-By giving the public the final say over over power through a national plebiscite

It Increases Australia’s Standing in the World

--As a superpower, it will show Australia takes its role seriously as a force for good
--It will enhance the country’s reputation
--Developing nations do have a point: the developed work needs to take the lead in finding climate change solutions.

Australia in 2029, the Bright View

Thanks to farsighted leadership shown between 2008-2015, Australia has low energy prices and huge solar farms in the Outback providing renewable energy through huge Direct Current (DC) power lines. Nuclear power plants at Roxby Downs keep the nation’s lights on during the day and charge electric vehicles and create hydrogen at night. Expanding fleets of electric/hydrogen vehicles roam the nation's roadways, emitting nothing worse than water vapor. The cost of transport becomes remarkably stable since transport fuel can now be forecast in years advance. Oil prices are no longer even mentioned on the evening news. The Reserve Bank of Australia has to lay off economic researchers since inflation, without volatile energy components, has become much easier to forecast. Interest rates are lower since the economy has a higher 'speed limit.'

Atmospheric temperatures are stabilizing due to huge cuts in greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. Hydrogen exports are growing, particularly to European markets. Exports of coal and gas are stable. The trade deficit has fallen by half.

A huge new information technology industry has sprung up to manage the electricity grid and to bundle renewable energy into downstream retail packages for an increasingly choosy consumer sector, returning valuable price signals for investment. One late entrant -- wave and tidal power -- is gaining alot of attention to the surprise of everyone. Early prototypes tested in Wollongong in 2006 showed promise, and have flourished in a transparently priced energy market, thus sending correct economic signals to investors.

Billions of dollars of carbon taxes have funded infrastructure spending including direct current power lines linking Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It’s also funded a major expansion of energy research, creating a huge influx of highly-skilled labor to Australia. The benefits show in ever rising international patent applications.

Finally, early solar photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, geothermal and wind farms built between 2005-2015 have now paid down the bulk of their financing, meaning that most are now generating electricity for close to their operating costs of about 1.5c per kilowatthour, and are expected to do so indefinitely. These low prices are being bundled with newer-high cost power sources, enabling new bundles of competitively priced power to be brought to market.

In Victoria, carbon capture and storage has proven itself technologically feasible, but high cost. Geosequestration has cost much more than expected, and carbon emission reductions have been less than expected. The government has said the current fleet of experimental plants built in 2015 will probably be shut down before 45 year lifetime is up, but may be kept open to maintain employment in regional Victoria.

The Alternate Vision

Australia’s resources are stretched thin. The insurance industry has required government bailout after government bailout after failing to meet huge and repeated coastal storm damage payouts. Inland cities like Dubbo and Wagga are struggling to cope with influxes of new settlers fleeing coastal cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane that are hollowing out to ever stronger coastal storms and property damage.

Unrestricted uranium exports from Roxby Downs have led to 10 declared nuclear weapons capable states. Al Qaeda says it has the bomb.

Temperatures are reaching all time highs and the grid is struggling to cope. New carbon capture and storage aren’t able to keep up with air conditioning demand due to temperature rises that have outstripped predictions.

The challenge for the public

With such an important threat facing life as we know it, it seems crazy the public has to fight for a smart future. But that's the way it is. Unfortunately, traditional energy industries hate renewable energy for two reasons. The first reason is that it requires change, and traditional energy industries have invested huge amounts of time in developing mechanisms and defenses against change. The second reason is that under an energy paradigm in which fuel is free (sun, wind, tides, for instance) an entire chain of middlemen from energy source to energy combustion is eliminated, and the energy cycle is flattened to two elements: the energy production system and the energy source. This is hugely threatening to the traditional economics of the energy industry.

The good news, however, is that the jury has returned. The verdict is in. Widespread investment in renewables over the next 10 years, coupled with a revamping of the nation's energy infrastructure which requires a facelift anyway, is providing an unprecedented opportunity to carry us all to a sunny, bright future.