THE CLIMATE COUNCIL is calling on all governments to speed up plans to phase out coal and gas, in response to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s latest annual Electricity Statement of Opportunities report released today. 

Greg Bourne, Climate Councillor, energy expert and former President of BP Australasia said: “Australia needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible and replace them with clean and affordable renewables and storage. It’s the quickest path to a cheaper, cleaner, safer, and more reliable electricity system. 

“Coal and gas simply cannot compete with renewables and storage on price. Gas, in particular, is the most expensive source of power in the electricity network, and adding more new gas power stations won’t change that.” 

Renewables and storage are already well on the way to reliably powering Australia. Nationally, renewables provided five times more power than gas in the National Electricity Market in 2021. Tasmania is already 100 per cent renewables and South Australia got two-thirds of its power from renewables in 2021. 

“Supporting or funding new fossil fuel projects will only drive-up power prices and make Australia more susceptible to global energy shocks,” said Bourne.

“The quickest and cheapest way to increase Australia’s supply of clean, secure, affordable energy into our electricity systems is to replace coal and gas with renewables, storage and smart grids.” 

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