The Australian government has rejected a plan to generate 42% of the country’s power from wind and solar energy. The government instead plans to require power companies to provide a certain amount of power from coal, glass and hydroelectric generation.  

The policy change will end subsidies paid to wind and solar generators from 2020 to reduce costs. “Past energy plans have subsidized some industries, punished others and slugged consumers”, Australia’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement. No new coal-fired generators are being built because there is an uncertainty on how Australia is going to manage its greenhouse gas cuts.

“Australia joins Donald Trump’s United States as one of only two major national governments to remove support for investment in renewable energy and redirect it to ageing and polluting power stations”.