Bringing them together in Blacktown to answer the question:
How can we Power our Suburbs with clean affordable energy and make sure renters aren’t left behind in Australia’s world-leading rooftop solar and battery revolution?
Asian Australians for Climate Solutions Chief Executive Officer Corinne Ang says:
“Western Sydney’s suburbs are home to vibrant multicultural communities, including many Asian Australian families, yet many are renters who are locked out of the benefits of rooftop solar.”
“Around a third of people in Western Sydney – and across Australia – rent their homes, meaning they miss out on the roughly $1,400 a year in savings that solar homeowners can enjoy.”
“A fair energy transition means unlocking solar and energy efficiency upgrades for renters, so families can lower their power bills and live in homes that can be effectively cooled in summer and heated in winter for their health and wellbeing.”
Multicultural Leadership Initiative Chief Executive Officer Rathana Chea:
“Australia’s energy transition must be fair, inclusive and representative of the nation we are today. If solar is only available to homeowners, it is not a true energy transition. Instead, it risks becoming a subsidy for the privileged—deepening the existing fault lines of economic and social inequality in Australia.”
“A genuine climate transition cannot simply shift how energy is produced while leaving existing inequities intact. If our work as a climate movement only focuses on replacing one energy source with another, it becomes a transactional strategy that preserves the social and economic status quo rather than transforming it. A true transition does not deepen fault lines; it closes them.”
“This is particularly important in Australia’s multicultural communities. One in four Australians has mixed cultural heritage. One in three Australians is culturally and linguistically diverse. More than half of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. We are, fundamentally, a migrant nation—one that proudly pays respect to the First Nations peoples of this country.”
“We cannot achieve a successful climate transition without multicultural Australia. And a significant portion of multicultural Australia are renters.”
“Yet renters remain largely locked out of the benefits of rooftop solar—one of the most effective ways to lower household energy costs while reducing emissions. Unlocking access to residential solar for renters is therefore not just an energy policy issue; it is an issue of fairness, equity, and inclusion in the clean energy transition.”
Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas:
“Two-thirds of Australia’s three million rental homes are freestanding houses with enough roof space to host an estimated 12 Gigawatts of solar, (close to half of current rooftop solar output).”
“We need to overcome the ‘split incentive’ problem that it’s the landlords who need to pay for solar and energy upgrades and tenants who would directly benefit.”
“Solar Citizens reached out to hundreds of renters, landlords and homeowners to find solutions they agree on. The highest consensus solutions combined a ‘carrot’, a federal tax concession for landlords, like accelerated depreciation for solar and energy efficiency appliances for rental homes, and a ‘stick’ – Mandated Energy Efficiency Standards on rental properties.”
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