(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
Thousands of supporters of renewable energy have taken part in rallies across Australia to demand the retention of the Renewable Energy Target.
Australia's existing target is for 20 per cent of power generation to come from renewable sources by 2020.
The federal government is considering a report it commissioned by a panel that has called for changes to the scheme.
Supporters of maintaining the present target say thousands of jobs are at stake if the changes are accepted.
Greg Dyett has more.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
If recent opinion polls are accurate, an overwhelming majority of Australians support the existing 20 per cent target, with some arguing it should be even more ambitious.
But the man leading Australia is not so enthusiastic.
In January, Prime Minister Tony Abbott planted doubts about his Government's commitment to the Renewable Energy Target in an appearance on Macquarie Radio.
"The problem, at this stage, with renewable energy is that there's always got to be a backup, because sometimes the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. If the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, the power doesn't flow."
The Government then set up a panel to review the target, a panel headed by businessman and climate change sceptic Dick Warburton.
His review calls for the scheme to be scaled back.
With the Government's response to that review believed to be imminent, clean energy proponents have staged a national rally for renewable energy.
The protests were held outside the offices of key Government MPs, including Tony Abbott's own electorate office in Sydney.
Claire O'Rourke, from the group Solar Citizens, was among several hundred people who gathered outside Mr Abbott's office before presenting his staff with a petition.
"The Renewable Energy Target is predicted to create another 18,000 solar jobs by 2020, and, if the Renewable Energy Target is cut, it will (mean) thousands of jobs lost right now and businesses close down. It will also be harder for Australians to put solar on their rooftops and get back in control of those skyrocketing power bills. So what we've seen here is people stepping up today at rallies all around the nation to call on the Government to get back to a bipartisan position on the Renewable Energy Target, which is what Australians want."
The acting chief executive officer of the Clean Energy Council, Kane Thornton, says Mr Abbott's misgivings about renewable energy is misplaced.
"Those arguments are very outdated in Australia -- and particularly if we look at a state like South Australia, where South Australia has a lot of wind power and, in fact, South Australia now gets over 40 per cent of its power from wind energy. Its power supply is very reliable and stable, and it doesn't need a whole lot of investment from other forms of energy to support wind power in South Australia."
Claire O'Rourke, from Solar Citizens, says thousands of people will find themselves out of work if the Government adopts the recommendations of the Warburton Review.
She says the Government needs to make decisions which reflect the views of the majority.
"The Government needs to get back in touch with the community on this issue. More than 80 per cent of Australians are supportive of the Renewable Energy Target, and the Government promised to keep the renewable target as it is before the last election. They're walking away from that promise, and it's time they deliver to the community what they want."
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