Shortly after coronavirus-related restrictions came into place in March, the Victorian government announced the lifting of a moratorium (temporary ban) on gas exploration in the state from July 2021, along with a permanent ban on fracking.
According to The Australia Institute, the internal report on which the decision was based seemingly did not include 88 per cent of potential emissions from burning the gas, despite Premier Daniel Andrews announcing that priority would be given to usage within the state. The premier also announced the creation of 6,400 related jobs, which turned out to be job years, not the number of actual jobs, as outlined by Mark Ogge of The Australia Institute in a recent webinar.
This is especially significant considering that the state will announce emissions reduction targets for both 2025 and 2030 in the coming months, a decision which has been delayed from the original 31 March deadline. This highlights a clash between science-based targets aimed to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and the additional injection of carbon that new gas could bring in the coming years.
Ogge also highlighted the opening of gas exploration is implicated in private interests, such as those who have voting power in the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) and the impact the body has on government decisions. Its National Research Management Committee that oversees all research projects includes companies ALPNG, Origin, QGC, Santos and Pangaea Resources.
While the federal government has set a zero net emissions target by 2050, along with the states and territories and local councils in some areas, the steps that are taken to get there are vitally important. Yet there seems to be no signs of a rapid move away from fossil fuels.
The announcement of the federal ‘technology roadmap’ on 28 February, described by the Climate Council as a ‘roadmap to nowhere’, confirms that the focus is on prolonging the life of the fossil fuel industries in Australia with investments in technologies to make coal and gas ‘cleaner’ rather than transitioning to renewables at the earliest possible time. The roadmap announcement came shortly after the decision to axe almost 20 per cent of CSIRO staff, including the hydrogen research unit, hydrogen technology forming part of the proposed plan.
'What we need more than ever is visionary thinking to shape the future rather than a disproportionate focus on short-term interests.'
The federal government is seemingly looking at deals involving more fossil