When they joined with Labor to form Government, the three Independents and Greens MP Adam Bandt all declared their support for renewable energy - now it's time for our new Government to act. 

The Government's new Expert Panel on Climate Change  is talking about carbon pricing - an effective stick to make polluters accountable and send an economic signal to the market to stop investing in polluting technologies.

But we also need a carrot: a Feed-In-Tariff to reassure investors that the clean renewable energy they generate will be brought at a fair price.

In Germany a well-designed Feed-In-Tariff saw the creation of 280,000 jobs in renewable energy and a roll out of solar energy on roof-tops across the country.  The increased research and development yielded also helped bring down the price of solar and wind energy for developing countries. 

In Australia it will support Baseload Solar Thermal plants as well as large reliable wind farms and domestic solar generation.

Please sign the petition below and ask the Expert Panel on Climate Change to design and introduce a Gross National Feed In Tariff as soon as the new senate is appointed next year.

What is a Feed-In-Tariff?

A Feed-In-Tariff provides an assurance to investors that they will receive a fair price for clean energy they generate.

It is an agreement to purchase of their clean energy at a reasonable rate by making up the difference between the price consumers pay for electricity and the initially higher cost of generating energy from new clean renewable sources.

For example, if consumers pay 8 cents per unit (called a kilowatt hour) of electricity, but it costs 15 cents per unit to build and generate it from new solar power stations, the Feed-In-Tariff might pay the extra 7 cents per unit to the solar power company - making it affordable for consumers and worthwhile for the investors.

Over time, as building renewable energy infrastructure becomes cheaper, the bonus paid to clean energy generators is gradually reduced.

By designing the tariff to provide different levels of incentive for different forms of energy generation, it can support all the most promising new technologies to become cheaper - like wind and baseload solar thermal, and in the future, geothermal or wave power.

What will a Feed-In-Tariff do?

In Germany a Feed-In-Tariff helped create 280,000 jobs and bring the price of solar panels down so ordinary people and the developing world could afford them.  

In Australia it will allow us to capitalize on our best natural assets:  the best solar resource in the world, and strong winds from the Southern ocean.  Over time, it can help support investment in new forms of energy innovation, including geothermal and wave power.

Kick-starting a new clean energy economy will help guarantee the cost and supply of energy,  regardless of rises in oil and other commodity prices around the world.

It will help us supply our energy without destroying the pristine natural environments that Australians love, or the farming and agricultural land we depend on.

And it will help Australia play our part in the global fight against climate change.

A recent report shows that supplying all of Australia's energy needs through clean energy is possible, it just requires the right environment to support investment.  Click here to see the report by the University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute and Beyond Zero Emissions.