Australia must transition away from its fossil fuel subsidies, industries, electricity generation and exports. In order to achieve interim and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets, Australia must reduce its reliance on coal-fired electricity.

Phase out coal subsidies

Coal is subsidised to the order of $1.7 billion per year, including a 50% rebate on diesel which adds $300m to coal company profits per year. Even gas gets taxed at a higher rate than to coal, via a resource rent tax. We need to remove the tax bias against clean energy to encourage the uptake of renewable energy.

We need to reduce our reliance on coal-fired electricity. The electricity sector contributes 35% of Australia’s greenhouse pollution and 97% of these emissions come from 24 coal-fired power stations around Australia.

Production of electricity from coal-fired power stations is the single greatest source of greenhouse emissions in Australia. Therefore, we must shift our electricity generation away from coal. To achieve this, the federal government must immediately ban the construction of any new coal-fired power stations without proven carbon capture and storage technology.

Carbon capture and sequestration

Carbon-capture (sequestration) research is underway. We need to continue investing in this technology to capture the excessive carbon emissions that are already in the atmosphere. We cannot afford to continue producing more carbon emissions which will be even more difficult and expensive to capture, should that prove possible in the future.

Phase out coal for electricity generation

In addition, a strategy should be developed for phasing out the use of coal for electricity generation in Australia until it is a zero carbon emission technology. This will require a transition strategy for coal communities into cleaner industries such as renewable energy and carbon capture systems (e.g. soil capture of carbon).

Assisting coal communities

The major coal communities around Australia, such as the LaTrobe and Hunter Valleys, will need assistance to shift jobs into cleaner industries. Renewable energy generation, resource recovery, reforestation and sustainable agriculture can create new jobs for those local economies but only if government policies support a ‘just transition’ for these regions.

A report from the University of Newcastle shows a shift to renewable energy in the Hunter/Wyong region would create a new gain of between 3,900 and 10,700 jobs.