Push for shift to natural gas

Age
Friday 2/10/2009 Page: 3

A switch from coal to gas could cut Victoria's greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, says Australia's peak gas transmission body, which has warned that governments will fall short of emission reduction targets unless the deployment of gas is accelerated. In its submission to the Victorian Government's green paper on climate change, the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) has criticised "the attention governments in all jurisdictions give to all energy sources other than gas". APIA chief executive Cheryl Cartwright said policy attention on gas usually related to the export market, such as the $43 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project.

But, she said, only 40% of Australia's gas travelled overseas, and Victorian natural gas reserves, mainly in the Otway and Gippsland basins, could help the transition from coal-fired generation. The Australian Energy Market Operator puts Victoria's 2P reserves, those that are proved and probable, at 10,000 petajoules. "There shouldn't be the discouragement of natural gas that there is," Ms Cartwright said. "Any emissions trading system will see an increased demand for gas but all the compromises that are being introduced, like the assistance to coal, the assistance to renewable energy and the assistance for gas exports, will slow down a move to natural gas domestically."

Ms Cartwright said that delay could threaten governments' emission reduction targets. "Of course we need to move towards renewable energy but, in the short to medium term, gas is the obvious answer to deliver significant emission cuts and meet those targets." The Victorian and Federal governments have pledged to cut emissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2050. Ms Cartwright said the Federal Government should consider introducing an incentive such as the renewable energy target for gas in an effort to bring down emissions.

Nick Otter, chief executive of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, said reaching emission reduction targets would mean not only a move towards gas but also sequestering those emissions. "If you are going to meet the carbon dioxide reduction targets, you are going to have to apply CCS to gas as well as coal," he said. "That will provide a significant step forward."