[quote]Last Sunday, the federal government announced that not only will it ban the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) from investing in existing wind technology, but small-scale solar power projects as well. Instead, the CEFC will focus its energies on "emerging technologies." The CEFC is an organization that lends funding to renewable energy projects. This new ban will be stifling not just for them, but for the future of renewable technologies since one-third of CEFC funding is in solar projects, and many of them are small-scale solar projects, including investing in household rooftop panels.[/quote] [quote]Abbott's actions since he became Prime Minister don't exactly bolster his claim that he wants to support renewable energy. Since 2013, when he was elected, Abbott has lowered Australia's renewable energy targets from 41,000 gigawatt hours to 33,000gigawatt hours, broken up Australia's Climate Commission body and even dropped the science minister between 2013-14, essentially silencing representation from the science sector. The actions don't match up with his statements, and it's difficult to conclude that there isn't some hidden agenda. The Prime Minister of contradictions has also recently approved the opening of a huge coal mine in New South Wales that will operate until 2046. This is in light of a pressing need for Australia to source its energy needs from renewable sources instead of coal and oil. Releasing pollutants is damaging one of Australia's most precious jewels: the Great Barrier Reef. Fishermen have recently reported seeing a 1-kilometer (over half a mile) long slick of oil. This unconfirmed incident comes as a reminder to Australia that creating a dependency on the oil and coal industry may come at a high cost. The move away from solar technology investment seems counterintuitive since Australia is famed for being a sun haven. In fact, a solar potential map of Australia for 2013 shows that a significant portion of the country had the potential to produce more than 1500 kilowatts per hour (kWh) of solar-generated electricity. [/quote] Get your shit together Tony Abbott. [spoiler]source: http://www.iflscience.com/environment/australian-pm-bans-solar-and-wind-power-investment[/spoiler]