“Stimulus Summit” Today: A Renewables-Led Economic Recovery

The “Stimulus Summit” is a free online event being held today that will delve into government stimulus packages relating to renewables and climate change action, and discuss the critical role of decarbonisation in Australia’s economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts from across the renewables sector will (virtually) gather with government, business and community leaders to discuss how Australia can use renewables to build a stronger and cleaner economy after the COVID-19 crisis.

“This is Australia’s moment to modernise and grow the economy, create hundreds of thousands of new future-proof jobs and position Australia as a global renewable energy superpower,” said Smart Energy Council CEO, John Grimes.

The Stimulus Summit, presented by the Smart Energy Council and RenewEconomy, has an impressive lineup of speakers that includes:

• Lily D’Ambrosio – Victoria’s Minister for Energy, Environment & Climate Change and Minister for Solar Homes
• Shane Rattenbury – ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability
• Ross Garnaut AC – Professorial Fellow of Economics, Melbourne University
• Annastacia Palaszczuk – Premier of Queensland
• Bill Johnston – WA Minister for Energy
• Dan Van Holst Pellekaan – South Australian Minister for Energy
• The CEOs of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Climate Council, Climate Works, Carbon Market Institute, Farmers for Climate Action, Beyond Zero Emissions, Hydro Tasmania, JET Charge and others.

Among the items on the program:

• Solutions, Actions & Benchmarks For A Net Zero Emissions Australia
• Superpower: Australia’s Low Carbon Opportunity
• Revitalising & Decarbonising The Australian Economy
• A Million Jobs Plan

There will also be case studies presented on large-scale renewables projects and “screwdriver-ready” commercial-scale solar power and storage projects. The full program can be viewed here.

Claimed to be Australia’s biggest ever online energy event, the Smart Energy Council was originally expecting around 1,000 attendees, but it looks as though more than 3,000 have registered so far. Hopefully the event will be free of Zoombombing.

The Stimulus Summit kicks off today at 10:50am and ends at 4:20pm (AEST). It’s not too late to register and you can do so here.  After the program is complete, there will also be a “HopIn speed networking” session where participants will have 3 minutes to connect with others in the industry. That involves separate registration here.

On a related note, the Clean Energy Council released its “A Clean Recovery” report yesterday, which outlines a plan to leverage Australia’s renewables and energy storage potential to jump-start the country’s economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.