The net zero economy is rushing towards us at pace. The building blocks are being hauled into place. Labor's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, is the master builder. And, as we saw in the federal budget, he has won over the Treasurer.
Mr Bowen has laid out a reconstruction plan not seen since the decades following WWII. Its essence is the removal of fossil fuels from the nation's energy supply, an enormous task for an economy founded on coal, gas and petroleum. The switch is to renewables, to electricity generated from solar, wind and hydro. Giant batteries will step in when renewables are in short supply, and be re-charged when renewables are in abundance. Pumped hydro will supply further back-up.
