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AUSTRALIA 
A climate friendly budget
Tuesday, 13 May, 2008
clean energy
The federal government has ramped up its spending on climate change to an unprecedented $2.3 billion.
The four years of spending plans makes good on the government's election promise to overhaul the climate change budget.
Have Your Say: Is this year's Budget 'tough but fair'?
The fund includes $500 million for clean coal and $500 million for renewable energy, both to be spent over seven years.
But the clean coal funds will be spent more quickly.
Over the next two years, $143 million will be spent on clean coal while $55 million will go towards renewable energy. Most of the spending on renewables has been pushed out to post-2012.
The clean coal money will go to research, demonstration projects and infrastructure.
The renewable energy fund goes to the development and commercialisation of power sources like solar and wind.
The budget provides funding for key Labor promises, like $1 billion to green Australian homes.
There's $260 million to clean up businesses. Grants of up to $200,000 per building will be available to overhaul air-conditioning, heating, lighting and ventilation.
Grants of up to $50,000 will help schools to install energy- and water-saving measures.
One program has been axed - the $334 million Green Vouchers for Schools introduced by the former coalition government.
The budget also contains $130 million fund to help farmers cope with climate change.
Water friendly budget
Meanwhile the budget is rushing through money to save the drought plagued Murray Darling Basin.
Spending on water buy-backs and infrastructure upgrades under the 10-year plan for the Murray Darling has been brought forward by $400 million over the next two years.
Almost $1 billion of a $5.8 billion fund to overhaul infrastructure - like fixing leaking pipes and covering irrigation channels to reduce evaporation - will be spent in the next two years.
And the government will spend $653 million over the next two years to buy back water allocations from irrigators, to return more water to the rivers, over the next two years.
The 10-year budget for buybacks is $3.1 billion "Bringing forward this funding will support the government's urgent action to put water back in the rivers by addressing over-allocation and overuse," Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said.
Urban households were not excluded in the water budget.
Up to half a million households will get a $500 rebate to install rainwater tanks and greywater systems. The plan will cost $250 million over six years.
Grants of up to $10,000 will go to surf lifesaving clubs to install water tanks.
Source: SBS staff and agencies
The four years of spending plans makes good on the government's election promise to overhaul the climate change budget.
Have Your Say: Is this year's Budget 'tough but fair'?
The fund includes $500 million for clean coal and $500 million for renewable energy, both to be spent over seven years.
But the clean coal funds will be spent more quickly.
Over the next two years, $143 million will be spent on clean coal while $55 million will go towards renewable energy. Most of the spending on renewables has been pushed out to post-2012.
The clean coal money will go to research, demonstration projects and infrastructure.
The renewable energy fund goes to the development and commercialisation of power sources like solar and wind.
The budget provides funding for key Labor promises, like $1 billion to green Australian homes.
There's $260 million to clean up businesses. Grants of up to $200,000 per building will be available to overhaul air-conditioning, heating, lighting and ventilation.
Grants of up to $50,000 will help schools to install energy- and water-saving measures.
One program has been axed - the $334 million Green Vouchers for Schools introduced by the former coalition government.
The budget also contains $130 million fund to help farmers cope with climate change.
Water friendly budget
Meanwhile the budget is rushing through money to save the drought plagued Murray Darling Basin.
Spending on water buy-backs and infrastructure upgrades under the 10-year plan for the Murray Darling has been brought forward by $400 million over the next two years.
Almost $1 billion of a $5.8 billion fund to overhaul infrastructure - like fixing leaking pipes and covering irrigation channels to reduce evaporation - will be spent in the next two years.
And the government will spend $653 million over the next two years to buy back water allocations from irrigators, to return more water to the rivers, over the next two years.
The 10-year budget for buybacks is $3.1 billion "Bringing forward this funding will support the government's urgent action to put water back in the rivers by addressing over-allocation and overuse," Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said.
Urban households were not excluded in the water budget.
Up to half a million households will get a $500 rebate to install rainwater tanks and greywater systems. The plan will cost $250 million over six years.
Grants of up to $10,000 will go to surf lifesaving clubs to install water tanks.
Source: SBS staff and agencies
