Some good news from the Climate Council!

Here’s a question for you:

True or false? Australia is doing better than other developed countries when it comes to converting homes to renewable energy.

If you said true, you’re right! In fact, we get the gold medal 🥇🌞 This is because one in three Aussie households now have solar on their rooftops – making it three times more common than the backyard pool.

This crowns Australia as the world leader in solar energy on a per capita basis, with just over 1.1 kW per person at the end of 2022, ahead of both the Netherlands and Germany!

But Australians need to brush up on their knowledge, because when Climate Council asked over 1,100 people the same question, fewer than 1 in 3 were able to answer it correctly! Their recent poll shows Australians are massively underestimating the speed and scale of our switch to renewable power. And this glaring knowledge gap risks undermining trust in the energy transition.

That’s why Climate Council has released its latest report – Electric Shock! Australia’s Light-bulb Moment – which aims to address this gap and empower Australians to embrace and benefit from the increasing momentum of renewable energy.

Key findings from the report

The perception:

• Fewer than one in ten Australians realise how much of our main electricity grid is already powered by renewables backed by storage, and 57% think we are producing less electricity from renewables than we actually are.
• 60% overestimate the amount of total land that would be required to generate over 20 times our current annual energy needs from solar and onshore wind.

The reality:

• Close to 40% of electricity in the National Electricity Market came from renewables in 2023 – a remarkable growth from only 15.6% in 2017.
• Just 0.02% of our landmass is required for all our power needs. Australia has the best solar resources in the world and some of the best wind resources, giving us the potential to generate huge amounts of electricity affordably using readily available wind and solar technologies.

Bridging the gap

When people aren’t aware of the progress we’re making, they’re more likely to believe false solutions and claims being promoted by vested interests trying to slow the phase-out of polluting coal and gas. 

And they’re more vulnerable to ‘climate doomism’, which can push people to avoid thinking about climate change altogether as a coping strategy. 

These are both handbrakes on climate action.

We’re going all out to bridge the knowledge gap.

It’s a virtuous circle: the more people that know about our clean energy momentum, the more action we’ll take, and the more momentum we’ll generate. 

P.S. MostAustralians are in the dark on our renewable energy progress. Check out and share the new report Electric Shock! Australia’s Light-bulb Moment to inspire more people to get on board our clean energy transition.

P.P.S. Want to take further action in support of renewable solutions? If you haven’t already, add your name to Climate Council’s open letter today, urging our major party leaders to commit to doubling Australia’s rooftop solar and storage capacity by 2030.