Energy efficiency has been heralded as offering a huge, cheap and easy slab of greenhouse gas abatement. Yet few organisations bothered to comment on Australia's proposed 'stage 2' energy efficiency measures, and many of those that did are unimpressed.
Australia could reduce its 2020 emissions to more than 30% below 1990 levels without resorting to carbon capture and storage or nuclear power, but only if it employs “potentially controversial” measures such as slashing beef consumption and requiring aluminium smelters to offset their emissions.