Australians could cut power bills by 90% if they made their homes more energy efficient, report finds
Debate on how to generate energy ‘important but misses the point’, analyst says, when you can get such savings by using solar, batteries and efficient appliances, Graham Readfearn, The Guardian, 9 Jul 2025.
The debate over where Australia gets its energy from has played out like a “comic-book death battle between coal and renewables” in recent years, according to Luke Menzel, the chief executive officer of the Energy Efficiency Council.
Discussions over coal versus renewables, the role of gas and the speed of infrastructure rollout to bring renewables online had been “important”, Menzel said. “But there’s a whole other conversation we need to be having. And that’s about how we are using energy.”
Menzel and other energy experts say political noise has often overshadowed the role of energy efficiency in Australian homes and how to cut rising household bills.
The latest of several reports to make the case for boosting energy efficiency is from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
IEEFA found Australian households could cut their power bills by more than 90% by implementing a range of energy efficiency measures.
The Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act ensures products meet minimum energy performance standards and energy rating label requirements.
Australians losing billions in savings due to poor management of appliance efficiency scheme, audit finds
Read more
Released on Wednesday, the report calculated potential savings of between 82% and 94% if households installed solar and a home battery and used efficient appliances – such as heat pumps, air-conditioners and electric induction cooktops.
……………………………………………………………………….
Drivers warned of destructive trend on Aussie roads inflicting 100,000-tonne problem
SUVs, caravans and electric vehicles are all contributing to increased tyre pollution.
Sophie Coghill Yahoo News Reporter, 11 July 2025
There are growing calls for drivers to rethink their purchase of large vehicles, as the continued demand for SUVs and popularity of utes and caravans on Aussie roads contribute to a staggering tyre pollution problem in the country.
More than 100,000 tonnes of rubber fragments are being added to the environment every year due to friction on Australian roads, according to a recent report by Tyre Stewardship Australia. This has been a growing issue since cars first became mainstream, but the uptick in sales of heavier and larger vehicles is simply compounding the problem.
“The real issue is, as vehicles get larger and heavier, regardless of how they’re powered, we see more tyre wear because of the increased weight and road friction,” Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility at Swinburne University, told Yahoo News.
Dia said 40 per cent of the vehicles on Australian roads are now SUVs, and they made up nearly half of all new vehicle sales last year.
