The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has been allocated A$1 billion to work with lenders to provide low-interest loans for energy-saving home upgrades. The Budget includes an allocation of $1.3 billion to establish the Household Energy Upgrades Fund. The Fund will invest $1 billion in the CEFC loan scheme, which will fund an estimated 110,000 loans. The other $300 million will be used to partner with the states and territories to make energy performance upgrades to social housing. The government estimates that upgrading the energy efficiency of a home from 1 star to 3 stars can reduce energy bills by around 30 per cent. The Household Energy Upgrades Fund was part of a number of financial initiatives announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen last month. Other parts of the program include the introduction of a sovereign green bond program as a way of giving investors access to projects involved in the country’s net zero transition.  The green bond program will be managed by the Australian Office of Financial Management, with a starting date set for mid-2024. One of the aims of the program will be to “increase transparency around climate outcomes and the scale of green investments available”. The AOFM was allocated $8.3 million over four years in the Budget to establish the bond program. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme will be expanded to apply to existing dwellings, allowing people to get a star rating of their home’s energy performance. The government said it will work with banks to pilot ways to add energy performance into the set of factors valuers assess when they do house assessments, using the rating system. And the government will co-fund the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute to develop a sustainable finance taxonomy, which will “help investors target particular sustainability objectives and ensure investments are delivering on their sustainability claims”. One of the aims of the taxonomy project is to combat greenwashing. Treasury allocated $1.6 million to support the development of the taxonomy.