Australia must end its coal addiction

Age
Friday 28/9/2007 Page: 10

Political leaders need to bring in some big changes to combat climate change, writes James Norman.
TODAY climate change has become an issue that even the most conservative political parties in the world - including the American Republicans, the British Tories and the Australian Liberal Party - concede is a major priority for all serious politicians. This shift has come about because the public has demanded it. We have seen the rise of ethical consumerism as people have begun to refuse plastic bags in supermarkets, buy more sustainable and organic products and use public transport rather than drive. But now that we have broad political acknowledgement of the seriousness of the threat, we need to get more serious about real solutions.

Unfortunately, changing a few light bulbs and being more consistent about recycling won't bring about the emission cuts required to reverse the impacts of dangerous climate change, important though these things are. We need to go right back to the core issue of how we source our power, and how we use it. That is a much bigger issue than any ethical consumer push, as it gets right to the heart of the matter. That will mean really asking some hard questions internationally, and being willing to take tangible steps towards sustainability. Right now, although many governments around the world are setting emission reduction targets, there are simultaneous global trends that threaten to undermine these vital steps.

We know that in Victoria we are heavily reliant on coal as the primary source of our power, and this is the first problem we need to tackle. Given that coal produces about 25 per cent of current global carbon emissions, we know that the future cannot be simultaneously green and black. But no one is suggesting we close down our power stations tomorrow and turf people out of their jobs. This needs to be a transition that is done with courage and foresight, and that looks after those workers affected. Now even Australia's mining union, the CFMEU, agrees that climate change is a vital issue and that real action is required.

But more than just weaning ourselves off our coal addiction, Australia can play a part in influencing global trends by replacing our coal exports with renewable technology exports. In the 1980s, Australia was set to be a world leader in solar technology but, unfortunately, we allowed ourselves to fall behind the now lucrative Asian and European renewable energy market. We have to start to take this ground back - fast. The sobering truth right now is that there is something of a coal rush going on. In China, an average of two new coal stations are being built every week, and China has doubled its coal production in six years. India has plans to build more than 100 coal power stations in the next decade and the US is pushing ahead with plans for about 150 new coal power stations.

There is a lot of talk about clean coal technology, but it is difficult to tell how much of this is mere window-dressing. Most of the clean coal pilot schemes won't be able to offer real data for another 20 years, by which time we will be in a much worse situation than today. Then there is the cost of clean coal - one recent UN study reported that the cost of producing the clean coal electricity will add anything from 40 to 90 per cent to the cost of the energy. While it is tempting to see clean coal as the silver bullet, the reality is that clean coal is at best an untested possibility, at worst a mere distraction from the main game.

No one is suggesting that it will be easy to make the transition from coal, but all the current data points to the same conclusion. Australia has to start shifting away from coal now, and use our geopolitical influence to persuade others to move in the same direction. Imagine if John Howard, who has finally declared himself a climate change convert, decided to make Australia's clean energy future his final legacy. To do so, he would need to acknowledge that the shift to clean, sustainable energy sources, and away from coal, is clearly the only real path we have to seriously tackle climate change while simultaneously securing a long-term affordable, sustainable energy future for our kids.

James Norman is communications adviser with the Australian Conservation Foundation.