Dr. Peter Doran:

The Senator has asked if we have the wherewithal to make the transition. I have pointed out that we are beginning to see some serious high level political attention being given to the issue of fossil fuel subsidies. I hope some of the money will be freed up with a view to investing in technologies that will put us on the road to the transition to clean energy, rather using than fossil fuels. The European Union spends the equivalent of the cost of three or four Greek bailouts every year on fossil fuel subsidies, shoring up the fossil fuel industry. A former executive secretary of the UNFCCC has pointed out that massive amounts of money are invested in the energy sector all the time. The energy portfolios are massive, numbering in the trillions of dollars. If this money is being spent, why would we not ensure we climate-proof these investments at every level within the international financial institutions, the European Union and our own jurisdiction?