Blueprint Institute report says ‘coal adaption authorities’ would provide income insurance and early retirement packages as fossil fuel demand wanes
A Liberal-aligned thinktank has recommended 5% of state coal royalties be set aside annually along with $20m in federal funding to establish “coal adaption authorities” and worker income insurance to help rejuvenate regional Australia.
The Blueprint Institute report recommends governments hand back some control to regional communities in order to circumvent the political climate policy debate that has run for the past decade.
“These regional communities deserve considered policies and a pragmatic road map as coal-fired power becomes financially unviable for the companies which own it,” the institute’s senior energy researcher, Josh Steinert, said. “Each community should be given the tools to craft its own path forward.”
The report, released on Wednesday, recommends “well-designed” income insurance, early retirement packages, and job search and retraining services for those “who have taken the brunt of a shifting energy market”.
Read the full article published in The Guardian 29th September 2021