The Turnbull government has exacerbated the nation's energy crisis, making it "as frightening as it gets" for investors and locking consumers into much higher power and gas prices, according to Danny Price, a former advisor.

Mr Price, who this week resigned from the board of the Climate Change Authority, said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's decision earlier this month to back a $2 billion scheme dubbed "Snowy 2.0" was the epitome of half-baked policy.

In a second blow to the authority, John Quiggin, a University of Queensland professor, also quit the board on Thursday, saying the government had "chosen to treat the vital issues of climate change and energy security as an opportunity for political point-scoring and culture war rhetoric".

Of the two, Mr Price's exit may be more stinging. Professor Quiggin was one of the authority's original board members when it was set up during the Gillard government, while Mr Price had previously advised Mr Turnbull when he was opposition leader and the Abbott government on its so-called direct action plans but has lately been highly critical of its handling of the emerging energy crisis.