Australia is already an energy superpower. We should be using that to drive the world towards renewables

Australia is aiming to be a renewable energy superpower – but its actions don’t necessarily match its words, writes Greg Jericho. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

The Australian government likes to say we can be a renewable energy superpower, but it ignores that we already are an energy power that fails utterly to use that power for good.

The past weekend was the 10th anniversary of the Abbott government releasing the draft legislation to repeal of the carbon tax, and also of a report noting that IPCC suggested that “global warming could kill thousands of Australians”.