Victoria’s leading sustainability bodies should focus more on recycling and energy efficiency instead of renewable energy, a major review recommends.
The long-awaited review of Sustainability Victoria - to be released today - says the state’s recent performance in reducing waste has been patchy, and the organisation needs to help meet targets.
The Baillieu government will use the review findings to reshape Sustainability Victoria - which delivers community and industry-based environmental programs - and its spending priorities.
New programs to be run by the agency will be announced over the next month, with two understood to focus on reducing organic waste and improving resource efficiency, including saving power.
Last week, The Age revealed that Sustainability Victoria’s shake-up included dumping several climate change and renewable energy programs, including a $106 million grant scheme called Climate Communities to help local groups reduce emissions.
The review reveals a recent round of Climate Communities grants to 13 projects worth $600,000 had been recommended, but not ultimately approved.
Previously, $1.1 million in grants had been paid out before the Climate Communities grants were axed.
A range of other climate and renewable energy programs run by Sustainability Victoria are also set to be dumped or have their funding expire.
State Environment Minister Ryan Smith said the review identified a clear need to take Victoria down a path of ”practical sustainability - moving beyond awareness-raising exercises to a more focused set of actions and investments in core resource-efficiency areas”.
”Sustainability Victoria will now focus its program delivery on a set of priority program areas that help Victoria to improve recycling, manage waste and save valuable resources, such as energy.”
Sustainability Victoria’s dumping of renewable energy programs has drawn sharp criticism from green groups, which say it is part of a broader move by the Baillieu government away from addressing greenhouse gas emissions.
Environment Victoria’s Mark Wakeham said: ”It is disappointing to see the state government systematically dismantling renewable energy and climate programs.”
The review was led by former Worksafe executive Stan Krpan, who has recently been appointed chief executive of Sustainability Victoria.
His report points to a number of reviews of smaller climate and renewable energy programs - including by the Productivity Commission - that found they were not cost-effective.
The review says some programs had cost more than $1000 for every tonne of carbon reduced.
