A NEW REPORT from the International Energy Agency reveals that demand for global gas is set to slow, but that governments need to adopt more ambitious policies to achieve net zero emissions. 

“This new report from the International Energy Agency exposes, once again, the folly of the Federal Government’s so-called ‘gas-led recovery’ from COVID-19,” said Climate Council Senior Researcher, Tim Baxter. 

The Federal Government has recently opened up 80,000km sq for offshore oil and gas exploration and is supporting numerous other gas projects including the Narrabri project in NSW and the Scarborough project in WA. 

“The new gas projects the Federal Government is cheerleading for are expensive and are at risk of becoming stranded assets.  Our trading partners have committed to reaching net zero emissions in the middle of the century which means they must dramatically reduce their use of gas.  They simply won’t be buying our polluting products,” said Mr Baxter. 

“As the IEA has already pointed out, there can be no new fossil fuel projects – coal, oil or gas – if we are to meet globally agreed temperature goals,” he said.  

“Climate change is already hurting Australians. We have experienced worsening heatwaves, supercharged bushfires and the third mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef in five years,” said Mr Baxter.

To do its fair share, Australia needs to reduce its emissions by 75% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2035. 

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