AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has lifted his predecessor’s ban on state investment in wind power, as the Paris climate accord looks poised to test the administration’s willingness to curb fossil fuel pollution.

    Environment Minister Greg Hunt ordered government-backed Clean Energy Finance Corp. (CEFC) to cancel former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s directive prohibiting the A$10 billion (US$7.2 billion) renewable energy fund from investing in new wind projects, according to a Dec. 3 investment mandate.

    The fund now can invest in clean energy projects, including wind, that involve “emerging and innovative” technology, according to the document. The government directed the fund to focus on offshore wind projects, as commercial sources can pay for established onshore technologies.

    “The new CEFC investment mandate reflects the Turnbull government’s strong support for renewables and innovation,” said Caitlin Keage, a spokeswoman for Turnbull. “The mandate puts CEFC’s focus on new and emerging renewable technologies, rather than supporting well established technologies that are financially viable without government support.”

    The move comes as envoys from 195 nations at a United Nations climate summit in Paris endorsed a package of measures Saturday limiting fossil fuel pollution, establishing a mechanism to ensure reductions for decades, setting an ambitious goal to curb temperature increases and setting up ways to measure and verify emissions.

    The Australian decision on wind power marks another policy reversal by Turnbull, who deposed Abbott as prime minister in September in a leadership ballot of the ruling Liberal-National coalition.

    Abbott considered wind farming ugly and noisy. (SD-Agencies)