Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Ghosh, thank you for that question. The truth is that Australia is tracking well in terms of meeting our 2030 climate target. In the year to March, 440 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were recorded. That is 6.5 million tonnes lower than the year before and 28 per cent below 2005 levels. Preliminary data from the year to June is lower again, at 436 million tonnes. Emissions are lower than at any point under the previous government, and the government is meeting the electorate's call to address climate change with policies that also strengthen the economy. For example, under the Capacity Investment Scheme, we will deliver 40 gigawatts of competitive generation and storage, and it has unlocked tens of billions of dollars in new investment in industrial energy and home energy capacity. So far, developers who've won Capacity Investment Scheme contracts have committed to more than $14 billion in spending on local content, local jobs, local fabrication, local electrical contracting and, in regional communities, 10,000 jobs during construction.

Under the cheaper home batteries scheme, as of today, there are 41,000 batteries in 41,000 Australian homes that will have lower home power bills because they all use cheap electricity from their roof all day and store it during the day—that is, 41,000 households who would be paying more but for the scheme that this government introduced on the back of the election, where people spoke very clearly about the direction forward in terms of energy policy.