BY THE TIME THE GREEN NEW DEAL PASSES...:

What was abundantly clear was that their individual and combined ambition - and this from a tri-partisan mix of Liberal, Labor and Greens ministers - is that the states and territories are so far ahead of the federal Coalition government on climate and energy, it is almost as though they are in a different industrial era.

South Australia's van Holst Pellekaan wants to fast track his state's target of "net 100 per cent" renewables to be reached "by" 2030, rather than "in" the 2030s. That shouldn't be much of a problem, given the Australian Energy Market Operator reckons the state will be at 87 per cent within four years.

Victoria's D'Ambrosio has a legislated target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030, and will have to reach 100 per cent renewables well before 2050 if she isn't to break the climate law she designed and legislated for the state to reach zero emissions by that date.

The ACT's Rattenbury has already reached the territory's target of delivering the equivalent of 100 per cent renewables through a series of contracts with wind and solar farms in S.A., Victoria, NSW and the ACT, and is now plotting more such contracts to ensure that the electrification of transport and buildings (heat and gas) can follow a similar path. The results of a new 200MW renewable energy tender plus storage are before cabinet and should be announced soon.

Tweet   @brothersjudd