An open letter to Andrew Forrest

Dear Twiggy,

Congratulations! It’s about time someone of your standing called out the massive subsidies flowing to fossil fuels that are impeding the transition to clean energy that is essential to our well-being.

Your "We are positive power" website suggests we need to price carbon ‘properly’ to show the true cost of fossil fuels and their impact. Again you are right.

You justly criticise the fossil fuel industry and the WA government, but it is the federal government, that has the power and the responsibility to price carbon pollution, that deserves your harshest criticism for allowing Australia's emissions to keep growing.

Your considerable power and influence with Canberra could get a ‘proper’ price on carbon pollution – a predictably rising price, paid by the industry, for the pollution embedded in their fossil fuels at the point of extraction – a price that would end fossil fuel subsidies and redirect financial flows towards clean energy. Then the invisible hand of the market would guide a steady and sustainable transition from fossil to clean energy with minimum disruption to our society and economy.

Returning the revenue from the price on pollution to Aussie households, as a climate dividend, would enable all citizens to participate in decarbonising our economy together. And help fossil fuel industries to invest in, and transition to the clean energy economy.