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GOVERNMENT’S DIRTY DEEDS WITH CLEAN BANK

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT must be stopped from using Australia’s clean energy bank to fund dirty fossil fuel projects, according to the Climate Council.

The Morrison Government has today introduced a bill that would allow it to change the law so that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) can invest in fossil fuels. The CEFC is a public bank designed to support the development of new clean industries and renewable power.

“This is outrageous. At a time when we need to be investing in a renewables-led recovery to get Australians back to work, the government is planning to use money for clean energy on old, polluting fossil fuels,” said the Climate Council’s CEO Amanda McKenzie. 

“It is like using money set aside for koala protection to buy bulldozers to clear their habitat,” said Ms McKenzie.

“Using the Clean Energy Bank to support fossil fuels would be a very sneaky way to meet an ideological agenda.”

“Australia does not need any new polluting fossil fuels. Coal and gas are expensive, polluting and a poor public investment,” said Ms McKenzie.

The Climate Council’s recently released Clean Jobs Plan shows we can create 76,000 jobs in the short term, while setting Australia up for the future and tackling long-term problems like climate change. 

For interviews please contact Senior Communications Advisor Lisa Upton on 0438 972 260 Communications Advisor, Brianna Hudson on 0455 238 875. 

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading community-funded climate change communications organisation. We provide authoritative, expert and evidence-based advice on climate change to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

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