Australian business leaders need to decide if the Business Council of Australia represents their vision for Australia's future or if they need to look elsewhere to keep Australia competitive in the global race to clean technology, the Australian Greens said today.
The Business Council of Australia's attack on the world-leading Clean Energy Finance Corporation today demonstrates both that it lacks understanding of climate policy and that it is out of step with broad community and business sentiment.
"If leadership is about choosing a vision for the future and working towards it, the Business Council is consigning Australia to a dirty, uncompetitive future which will damage the interests of most of its members, let alone the rest of the country," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.
"The BCA purports to represent a broad cross-section of business around the country, but too often it speaks for the views of a few fossils at the expense of the country's long-term competitiveness.
"So many of the BCA's members understand the very real threat of accelerating climate change, and are investing in clean technologies, realising that that is the path to economic and social security, to job creation and long-term competitiveness.
"It should be remembered that the BCA's vocal anti-Kyoto lobbying was overturned by a backlash in its own membership.
"Just last week I attended an event hosted by Sustainable Business Australia where Günter Pauli addressed a crowd of forward-thinking business leaders who all understand that embracing clean technology and putting sustainability at the heart of business models is both a necessity in the face of clear scientific warnings and a great opportunity.
"The CEFC is based on successful models around the world that show that government-backed investment in renewable energy brings down the costs to the economy and to consumers of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"As we head towards a zero carbon economy, it will be the CEFC, not the BCA, that provides leadership, creating jobs and investment and bringing down costs for everyone."
