CANBERRA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has been accused of ignoring advice from its climate advisory body to use the coronavirus pandemic to address the climate crisis.
Mark Butler, the opposition Labor Party's climate spokesperson, said Thursday that the government ignored a report from the Climate Change Authority in July that said the economic response to COVID-19 should be used to "set up Australia for generations to come" by dealing with climate change."
He told The Guardian that the report found that investing in renewable energy projects and clean energy manufacturing would create tens of thousands of jobs, reduce power prices and cut Australia's carbon emissions.
"To ignore a COVID-19 recovery plan which highlights the massive potential of renewable energy and the renewables-related industry is exactly the type of ideological bias that has undermined progress under the Liberals," Butler said.
The report called on the government to seize a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to position Australia to capitalize on its abundant clean energy resources.
"It's a win-win-win opportunity for economic recovery, resilience and prosperity in a low-emissions world," it said.
"According to the Clean Energy Council, bringing forward the pipeline of renewable energy projects could create over 50,000 new direct jobs, help drive down power prices, triple the amount of large-scale renewable energy capacity in the country and stimulate private investment into rural and regional areas."
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last month revealed plans for a gas-led recovery from the coronavirus crisis, committing 52.9 million Australian dollars (37.6 million U.S. dollars) in funding for gas supply and transport infrastructure. Enditem
