On the same day the ACT government announced a groundbreaking investment deal that will deliver state-of-the-art hydrogen electrolysis to the territory, The Canberra Times reported planned federal Coalition cuts to renewable energy research would gut the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, slashing jobs and closing down potentially lucrative research programs.

While one level of government is determined to embrace the future the other appears to believe Australia can keep up with the rest of the world by marching in place.

The Turnbull government's antipathy towards renewable energy, highlighted some years ago by then treasurer Joe Hockey's views on the wind farms between Sydney and Canberra, appear to be as irrational as they are inexplicable.

Climate change, despite what some elements who are now well represented in the Federal Parliament continue to preach, is real.

Humanity, through industrialisation and the consumption of fossil fuels, has contributed to it through global warming.

We don't have an "Earth B" to fall back on.

The ACT government, to its credit, accepted these realities and, more importantly, acted on them some years back when it set the most ambitious renewable energy targets in the country.

When it was first suggested Canberra should be generating all of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020 even supporters of those technologies had doubts.

Today, thanks to some impressive developments in renewable energy technology on the macro and the micro scale, that goal appears to be within reach.

Once this is achieved Canberra's greenhouse emissions will be running at about 40 per cent below what they were in 1990.

This is a remarkable effort that looks like being achieved while still providing Canberrans with access to some of the most affordable electricity, and certainly the cheapest renewable energy, in the country.

While it could be argued the ACT government has been fortunate in that technological advances in recent years have put what initially looked like an almost impossible target within reach, that would be an oversimplification.

Many of the game changers, such as the reduction in the cost of solar panels for private homes and the development of affordable battery systems that allow private consumers to accumulate power during the day and use it at night, are the result of intense and expensive research.

By encouraging that research, and actively trying to develop a hub of intellectual excellence within its own borders, the ACT government is doing its bit to ensure the good ideas keep on coming and may, in time, deliver even more remarkable dividends.

The Turnbull government, on the other hand, still seems to have ideological hang-ups that unless reversed, will continue to hold back what could be a boom industry for Australia.