100% renewables by 2020 can be done
This week has seen fresh calls by mining giant Rio Tinto for the government to invest in nuclear power, saying it’s the only way to address our energy needs into the future and that talk of developing renewable energy like wind power and geo-thermal creates a “false optimism”. Meanwhile in Adelaide, environmentalists have been hosting a forum to explain to an eager audience how Australia could be run entirely on renewables as soon as 2020. So who’s right? Beyond Zero Emissions is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organisation who aim to promote technologies that will reduce the impacts of climate change. Their Campaign Director, Matthew Wright, is a key note speaker at the forum and he told The Wire what he thinks about Rio Tinto’s scepticism towards renewable energy.