COAG should ensure cleaner Australian gas remains in the energy mix
19 August 2016
Australia's peak body for the downstream gas industry urged the COAG Clean Energy Council to ensure cleaner, cheaper, Australian natural gas technology continues to be a part of the Australian energy mix.
"As Minister Frydenberg has said, it is remarkable that Australia has one of the world's largest reserves of gas and yet is looking to import gas from overseas or to use other energy technologies that are not always right for every job," Gas Energy Australia CEO John Griffiths said from the COAG Energy stakeholder roundtable in Canberra today."
"We welcome the comments from Minister Frydenberg today which remind Australians that Australian gaseous fuels are the only current alternative for baseload generation which can reduce emissions significantly while underpinning a range of Australian jobs."
Mr Griffiths said it is not a matter of renewables OR other lower emitting technologies even if they are fossil fuels. It's about ensuring the best lower emitting and lower polluting technology is available for each particular job.
"Renewables only offer part of the solution because 30% of Australia's energy usage is transport related and renewables cannot offer reliable base-load off-grid power. There is a strong case for gas fuels as part of the transition to a lower carbon, lower polluting future."
"It is important, given Australia's dependence on longhaul transport, that you can't run large trucks on wind power or cruise ships on solar and at the moment they are fuelled by higher polluting diesel and bunker oil. Ironically, local industry leaders like SeaRoad have committed to lower emitting dual fuelled LNG powered ships, that are significantly lower polluting. It is important that reliable supply of gas doesn't force these leaders to continue to use increasingly imported and higher emitting diesel."
"Only gaseous fuels have both the quantity and technology capacity to significantly displace higher polluting fuels. Because Australia has a natural advantage in gas fuels, it can also support niche technical, design, construction and engineering as well as downstream manufacturing jobs."
"And BREE has also noted that gaseous fuels have one of the lower long term costs of production of all the alternative fuels out to 2050."
"If we are genuinely serious about a lower emitting, lower polluting cleaner air agenda – that also supports Australia's unique needs, opportunities and jobs, gas fuels have to be part of the mix."
To read more about Australia's gaseous fuels, visit www.cleanercheaperfuels.com.au.
Media contact: John Griffiths 02 6176 3100
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