Several major energy companies including Shell , BP and Tesla , have signed an open letter to Australia ’s parliament criticising plans to impose cuts of 1.3bn AUD ( $ 1bn USD ) on the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ( Arena ) . The 24 companies signed an open letter to parliamentarians released by the Clean Energy Council. The country ’s coalition government has removed Arena ’s grant - making power , effectively closing it . The companies warn that investment confidence would be undermined by such a cut , and that supply chains and skills could be lost permanently . The CEO of the Clean Energy Council , Kane Thornton , said that Arena had helped lower the cost of renewable energy and storage .
Several major energy companies including Shell , BP and Tesla , have signed an open letter to Australia ’s parliament criticising plans to impose cuts of 1.3bn AUD ( $ 1bn USD ) on the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ( Arena ) . The country ’s coalition government has removed Arena ’s grant - making power , effectively closing it . The companies warn that investment confidence would be undermined by such a cut , and that supply chains and skills could be lost permanently . The CEO of the Clean Energy Council , Kane Thornton , said that Arena had helped lower the cost of renewable energy and storage .