RE-Alliance has considered the Net Zero Commission’s 2025 Consultation Paper through the lens of our work to support regional communities in the shift to renewable energy. With that in mind, RE-Alliance makes the following recommendations:
- Prioritise work on the next NSW Net Zero Plan to provide a clear pathway to deliver a climate safe future that is equitable and maximises social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits.
- Provide recommendations to the NSW Government on the most effective mechanisms for whole-of-government and renewable energy developer engagement with regional communities.
- Advocate to the NSW Government to support the establishment of Local Energy Hubs in key NSW regions - both directly and through the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council.
- Work with First Nations organisations to identify pathways to ensure the implementation of best practice principles for First Nations peoples in all work associated with the shift to renewable energy.
- Include consideration of community and social support for the shift to renewable energy as a key measure in assessing progress towards achieving NSW’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
- Develop more efficient assessment and delivery processes for renewable energy projects that maintain high levels of community engagement and environmental standards.
- Clarify regulatory pathways and provide Government support for community energy resources.
- Assess the effectiveness of the NSW Renewable Energy Framework and make recommendations to update the Framework, including to ensure stronger community engagement in the development and governance of community benefit funds and removing any unintended barriers that limit direct renewable energy developer engagement directly with, and funding for, local communities.
- Complementing the NSW Transmission Planning Review, make recommendations to Government on ways to improve community engagement in transmission development and implementation processes, and monitor the effectiveness of any changes made.
- Advise the NSW Government on a clear timeline to phase out the use of fossil fuel energy production and thermal coal mining that is consistent with NSW accepting a fair share of the emissions cuts necessary to meet the Paris climate targets.
- Advise the NSW Government on ways to improve policy and regulatory settings - including for financial assurance - to provide certainty and confidence to landholders that renewable energy project decommissioning will be appropriately managed by project developers.
- Identify the appropriate policy settings required to support the development of a circular economy that will cover waste streams in NSW, including in the renewable energy sector.
- Develop sectoral carbon budgets that drive absolute (as well as net) reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and that are consistent with NSW accepting a fair share of the emissions cuts necessary to meet the Paris climate targets.