Australia’s Major Parties at War Over Fossil Fuel Funding

Minister for Energy Angus Taylor during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb 2, 2021. Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Australia’s major political parties have battled over whether or not to allow the nation’s renewable energy agency to fund low-emissions projects based on fossil-fuel technology.

Last year’s 2020-21 federal budget (pdf) allocated $1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion) to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in the hopes it would aid the government’s Technology Investment Roadmap.