The climate council’s submission to the National Energy Market (NEM) Security Review chaired by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, calls for a rapid move away from all fossil fuelled power sources, including gas, to reduce Australia’s rising carbon emissions and protect Australia from worsening extreme weather.
Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said the submission outlines the urgent need for fossil fuels such as coal and gas to be left in the ground, in order for Australia to seriously tackle climate change.
“Burning coal, oil and gas for electricity is responsible for driving up greenhouse gas emissions and the long-term global warming trends we see year after year,” she said
“In creating the submission our energy experts looked particularly at the role of gas in the future electricity market. They found that gas is ultimately polluting and expensive.”
“While their remains a role for some existing power plants, the is no role for new gas infrastructure if we are to protect Australians from the severe consequences of a changing climate.”
“Our electricity network is ageing and polluting and must be traded in for a 21st Century model. We have the opportunity right now to build an energy system powered by pollution-free, cost-effective and reliable renewable power. Today, the cheapest new electricity sources are renewable.”
The submission also outlined serious concerns over the impacts of worsening extreme weather events such as heatwaves, bushfires and floods as a result of human-caused climate change.
“Australia is highly vulnerable to a changing climate. This includes our energy infrastructure that struggled to cope with intense heatwaves this summer in NSW, SA and Queensland.”
“To remain in line with our Paris Agreement commitments to limit global temperature rise, Australia needs supported pathways to transition as rapidly as possible away from coal, oil and gas to reach net zero emissions by 2050.”
For more information please contact Media Advisor Alexia Boland on 0430511068 and at alexia@climatecouncil.org.