---
title: ‘Gas-fired recovery’ stinks as debate heats up over dirty fossil fuel’s future
description: The so-called gas-fired recovery has proven to stink, but big power companies continue to call for new rules to prop up gas-fired power stations.
---
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The Canopy is a weekday morning email newsletter provided by the team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
# ‘Gas-fired recovery’ stinks as debate heats up over dirty fossil fuel’s future
Friday, 10 June 2022
The so-called gas-fired recovery has proven to stink, but big power companies continue to call for new rules to prop up gas-fired power stations.
The Australia Institute’s Richie Merzian argues energy ministers have failed to pick up on the greatest opportunities in electrification and reducing gas reliance in their response to the energy crisis.
And the NSW government is set to make its single biggest investment in renewable energy infrastructure, committing $1.2 billion in this month’s budget to fast-track transmission projects.
[Power chiefs, ministers divided over role of gas in clean energy shift](https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/power-chiefs-ministers-divided-over-role-of-gas-in-clean-energy-shift-20220609-p5aski.html)
While energy companies insist driving funds into gas-fired power stations will be vital to smoothing the energy transition, many state and federal ministers are at loggerheads over the future of the fossil fuel.
[Ministers addressing our spiralling energy crisis have ignored the greatest opportunities](https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2022/06/09/energy-gas-electricity-prices/)
A sharp rise in electricity prices has been caused almost entirely by our dependence on coal and gas. But the solution is not more gas production, it’s less gas reliance.
[A major chance for renewal - if Labor can sell it](https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/a-major-chance-for-renewal-if-labor-can-sell-it-20220608-p5arxs.html)
Political historian Chris Wallace argues the government has to find a way to communicate what it failed to in opposition: that renewable energy is cheaper.
[NSW to make single biggest investment in renewable energy](https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-to-make-single-biggest-investment-in-renewable-energy-20220609-p5asmc.html)
The record renewables funding will be spent on a financing facility to underwrite the construction of transmission infrastructure, critical for bringing the state’s renewable energy zones to life.
[Inclusion of First Nations voice in climate decisions among proposed changes](https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7774168/inclusion-of-first-nations-voice-in-climate-decisions-among-proposed-changes/)
First Nations expertise would be included by law as part of the ACT’s climate advisory body, under new laws that would ensure the government must consult with the body.
[Empowering consumers out of gridlock](https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7773860/empowering-consumers-out-of-gridlock/)
The ACT's $150 million sustainable household scheme, which delivers zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 to the territory's home owners to fit solar panels, install a heat pump or even part-pay for an electric vehicle, now has over 5,000 people signed up.
[Native forest logging to continue as NSW North Coast Wood Supply Agreements extended](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-09/north-coast-wood-supply-agreements-extended-forest-logging/101130572)
The NSW Agriculture Minister has signalled the government has no plans to phase out logging of native hardwood in state forests.
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