Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said Australia would
establish a $1 billion clean-energy innovation fund, in a major departure from
his predecessor’s much maligned approach to combating climate change.

Conservative former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised
by environmental groups for lagging behind other advanced economies when he
announced cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions last year.

Abbott, a climate change sceptic who was ousted in a
party coup by Turnbull in September, also faced criticism for his strong
support for the coal industry and for scrapping an ambitious carbon tax and emissions
trading plan in 2014.

Turnbull said the new fund would focus on investing in
high-tech clean energy technologies.

“What that is going to do is every year invest $100
million in the smartest, most cutting edge Australian clean-energy technologies
and businesses to ensure that we … play our part in cracking the very hard
problems, the challenging technical difficulties that we face in terms of
reducing emissions,” he told reporters.

Abbott pledged that the world’s largest exporter of coal
and iron ore would cut emissions by 26-28 percent of 2005 levels by 2030, a
target he submitted as part of negotiations on a global climate deal in Paris
last year.

Abbott also sought and failed to scrap the country’s
Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency,
which Turnbull said today, would be retained.

Australia is one of the largest carbon emitters on a per
capita basis due to its reliance on coal-fired power plants, and critics say it
has done little to match ambitious targets set by the United States and Europe.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt, speaking alongside
Turnbull, said the fund would help achieve Australia’s ultimate aim of reducing
emissions to zero.

“This will be investing in storage, in new battery
technology, in smart grids, in some of the exciting solar visions that people
have hoped for and imagined for Australia but which are only now really
becoming reality,” he said.

Public support for more action on climate change is
strong in Australia, according to recent polls.

A poll released in August by the Climate Institute
showed 63 percent of Australians wanted more action on climate change, up six
percentage points from 2014.

Turnbull, who has long held progressive views on climate
change, has drawn criticism since coming to power for not moving more swiftly
to strengthen Australia’s response to climate change.

– Reuters