La enseñanza y la educación no universitaria

This section briefly discusses some of the recent background to energy efficiency policy in Australia and the institutional framework for implementing those policies.

Further detail is provided in appendix B.

Greenhouse policy

The increasing interest in energy efficiency policy in Australia has been closely linked to greenhouse gas abatement objectives. Various Australian, State and Territory Government greenhouse gas abatement programs were developed during the 1990s, culminating in the National Greenhouse Strategy (NGS) in 1998. Several components of the NGS involve improving energy efficiency in the government, industrial, power generation, commercial, residential and transport sectors. In this regard, the NGS focuses on:

… cost-effective ways to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions in particular through ‘no regrets’ actions. The actions will deliver substantial non-greenhouse benefits to Australia. (AGO 1998, p. ix)

Since the inception of the NGS, all jurisdictions have separately developed their own greenhouse abatement strategies, including measures to increase energy efficiency. In June 2005, COAG agreed to set up a Senior Officials’ group to examine the scope for national cooperation on climate change policy, particularly in areas of common ground between jurisdictions. The group will consider the scope for improving investment certainty for business, encouraging renewable energy and enhancing cooperation in areas such as technology development, energy efficiency and adaptation.

At the international level, greenhouse policy has been largely progressed under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Protocol established individual country targets for industrialised countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. The Protocol formally came into force for ratifying countries in 2005, following its ratification by

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countries that produced 55 per cent of industrialised country emissions in 1990.

Australia has signed but not ratified the Protocol, but nonetheless has committed to meeting its agreed emissions target of 8 per cent above 1990 levels by 2008–12.

In 2005, Australia joined with the United States, China, India, Japan and South Korea in establishing the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. The partnership will collaborate to develop and deploy existing and emerging cost-effective, cleaner energy technology and practices. Energy efficiency is one of a wide range of possible areas for cooperation between the members.

Energy efficiency policy

In 2001, COAG established the Ministerial Council on Energy (MCE) to take responsibility for national energy policy including energy security, energy market reform and energy efficiency. In doing so, it considers both economic and environmental issues. The MCE established the Energy Efficiency Working Group (EEWG) to advise it on the performance of end-use energy efficiency policies and programs.

EEWG has developed a package of measures within a National Framework for Energy Efficiency (NFEE). These Stage One measures were announced by the MCE in August 2004 and consist of nine groups of measures designed to improve coordination among jurisdictions in delivering energy efficiency programs (box 1.1). Nonetheless, policy and implementation decisions remain at the discretion of individual jurisdictions.

A number of participants were of the view that measures in NFEE Stage One were not to be re-evaluated in the current inquiry. However, the terms of reference direct the Commission to consider existing and recent government energy efficiency programs, which clearly includes NFEE Stage One.

Further measures, including the possibility of incentives to encourage greater energy efficiency, are to be considered under a Stage Two NFEE (MCE 2004e).

The EEWG has also developed administrative guidelines for appliance labelling and performance. These are administered by the National Appliance and Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee (NAEEEC) which comprises officials from jurisdictional agencies responsible for administering energy-performance labelling and performance standards. It is responsible for managing Australian end-use energy efficiency programs including mandatory minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and mandatory energy labelling (appendix E).

INTRODUCTION 7

Box 1.1 National Framework for Energy Efficiency Stage One There were nine packages included in NFEE Stage One:

• Tightening residential building energy efficiency regulation (including through nationally consistent standards for new buildings and major renovations, and the mandatory disclosure of energy performance at time of sale or lease).

• Introducing commercial building energy efficiency regulation (including nationally consistent standards for new and refurbished buildings, and the mandatory disclosure of energy performance at time of sale or lease).

• Raising awareness of senior management in the commercial and industrial sectors (including through mandatory audits for large energy users, and training and accreditation for energy auditors).

• Imposing additional requirements on governments (including through developing consistent measuring and reporting, establishing standards for government buildings and developing best practice models).

• Extending labelling and standards for electrical appliances and applying the same regulatory approach to gas appliances.

• Developing and integrating energy efficiency training and accreditation for key trades and professions that influence energy efficiency outcomes.

• Developing commercial and industrial sector capability building (for example, through establishing best practice networks and generating highly visible examples of energy efficient equipment or processes).

• Raising consumer awareness (for example, through requiring energy retailers to report data on energy bills, promotional campaigns and through curriculum development for schools).

• Increasing finance sector awareness (for example, through providing tools for the valuation and risk assessment of finance proposals).

Source: MCE (2004e).

In 2004, the Australian Government (2004) released a white paper on energy policy.

This included energy efficiency issues covering a range of new and existing energy efficiency policies (subsequently incorporated in NFEE Stage One) and the Solar Cities trial incorporating energy efficiency measures and more effective signalling of energy market prices.

There have been significant changes in regulation and operation of Australian energy markets since 1990 which may impact on energy efficiency policy and outcomes. In both the gas and electricity sector the provision of services by vertically-integrated government monopolies has been dismantled. While details vary between jurisdictions, gas and electricity utilities have been structurally

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separated and corporatised or privatised and competitive neutrality reforms introduced where some government ownership was maintained. Pricing has become more cost reflective and some cross subsidies between regions and groups of users have been removed. Discriminatory entry barriers have been removed and wholesale, and in some cases retail, customers have been given greater freedom of choice of suppliers.

A national electricity market and a gas access regime have been established, promoting increased interstate trade and competition in energy. The development of these markets is ongoing with reviews of the national energy markets for gas and electricity (COAG 2002), the Gas Access Regime (PC 2004c) and the wholesale gas market (Allen Consulting 2005b) proposing further reforms to improve the efficiency of the markets.