NSW Liberal minister Matt Kean appointed chair of Climate Change Authority by Anthony Albanese

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the surprise announcement on Monday, just days after Kean left state parliament.

“As the former Treasurer of NSW and Minister for Energy and Environment, Matt Kean is uniquely qualified to lead the Climate Change Authority and I am so pleased that he has accepted the Government’s invitation to take up the vacancy,” said Mr Albanese.

“Matt Kean is an excellent appointment for this job.

“Mr Kean understands the opportunity that the clean energy transition represents for our country.

“He understood it as a member of the NSW Government and he understands it as someone who has focused his working life in recent years on making a difference, not just today but for generations to come.

“And he also understands the folly of walking away from the transition to renewables.”

Mr Kean will replace Grant King, who has resigned as chairman of the Authority. Mr Albanese thanked Mr King, who will conclude in early August.

The decision to appoint Mr Kean puts him at odds with the Liberal Party, which has announced a nuclear approach to energy supplies.

“I’ll get the most important questions about politics answered, but I’ll say this. As the next concern of the Climate Change Authority, my role is to advise the government on the basis of evidence,” Mr Kean told reporters.

“That includes technical evidence, economic evidence and scientific evidence, and that’s what I intend to do. We have to make decisions based on facts.

‘The latest scientific and economic advice that has looked at these issues, but that I am aware of, is from the CSIRO.

“They can say very clearly that the cheapest way to transform our electricity system is to switch to renewable energy sources, supported by reinforcement and storage. That’s what the CSIRO says, that’s the evidence we have. I am not aware of anything else.