Environment Minister Greg Hunt is hopeful agreement can be reached to restore a Renewable Energy Target (RET) "that works" by Easter.
Hunt said the existing RET is broken and the Opposition and clean energy industry know this.
"Since the RET was introduced in its current form six years ago market conditions have changed and there is now an oversupply of electricity," Hunt said.
"The Government wants to recalibrate the RET to better reflect market conditions and to ensure renewable energy continues to play a role in Australia’s energy mix."
The government has been in negotiations with the Opposition for several months seeking to change the RET which mandates that 20 per cent of electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
A review of the RET has recommended the target is cut to a "true 20 per cent" or 27,000 gigawatt hours, a figure that has been rejected by the Opposition and clean energy industry.
More recently the government has put forward a figure of 31,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 but Labor is standing firm on a target in the high 30,000s.
Hunt said the government remains committed to the original overall Renewable Energy Target of 45,000 gigawatt hours, but the composition of the target should better reflect the market and the way Australians are using power.
"Our proposal would see at least 23 per cent of Australia’s energy come from renewables – 15,000 gigawatt hours in existing renewable energy generation, 31,000 gigawatt hours under the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) and approximately 14,000 gigawatt hours under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES)," he said.
But Labor is standing firm following talks with key stakeholders from the clean energy industry, manufacturing, investors and unions yesterday.
Labor leader Bill Shorten warned that time is running out adding that "something has to happen this fortnight" to avoid job losses.
"The sector needs certainty and we need a deal now. We will do everything we can to ensure that happens," he said.
Clean Energy Council CEO, Kate Thornton, said yesterday that the longer negotiations continue, the more pain there is for industry.
"Every day that goes by, more businesses are suffering, investment is written down and people are losing their jobs," she said.
