L to R, NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe, Saul Griffith, Defence Minister Matt Thistlewaite (running away) Wyatt Roy, Terri Butler & Greens leader Adam Bandt.
Navigating the labyrinth of trade shows can often feel like a journey through a fantasy novel, complete with elf-sized airline seats, networking events that leave heads spinning, and generous sales reps locked in fierce debates over dinner bills. Yet, I’ve braved these challenges to bring you the latest insights from the frontlines of the energy industry.
In this post, I’ll focus on the recent remarks made by Greens leader Adam Bandt at a session titled “The Opportunity For Australia”. Regardless of your stance on The Greens, their policies, or their personalities, Bandt’s speech raised some critical points that warrant serious discussion.
Bandt’s Battle Cry for Climate Action
Bandt’s impassioned speech was a clarion call for urgent climate action. He underscored Australia’s unique opportunity to electrify homes and businesses, export renewable energy, and tackle the climate crisis simultaneously. However, he cautioned that poor decisions in the coming years could squander this golden opportunity, much like the past decade.
The Greens are pushing back against gas corporations, pouring millions into the Liberal and Labour parties. They are advocating for a swift transition to electrification, a halt to new coal or gas mines, and a reduction in actual pollution from coal and gas in Australia.
The Gas Industry: Friend or Foe?
Despite the gas industry’s attempts to paint a rosy picture through slick advertising campaigns and scare tactics about electrification costs, the transition to cleaner and cheaper all-electric homes is inevitable. But the industry isn’t going down without a fight, resorting to greenwashing tactics to buy more time and squeeze out more profits.
Australian Gas Market Absurdity
Venice Energy expects to take a final investment decision to build its FSRU-based LNG import project in Port Adelaide by August. WTF? Instead of focussing our attention on speeding up the inevitable goal of eliminating gas, plans are afoot to “import” Australian gas back into Australia from far off… Australia.
In light of outlandish electricity prices being dictated by the expense of gas, here’s a fun fact:
Just to get the gas onto ships for export, the gas industry uses more gas to compress, refrigerate and liquefy gas than the entire Australian gas-fired electricity generation fleet.
Bandt’s Key Takeaways
Bandt’s observations underscore the urgency of the situation:
- Australia has a golden opportunity to electrify its homes and businesses and export renewable energy overseas.
- The gas industry is the biggest user and polluter of gas in Australia.
- We should be taxing the profits of big coal and gas corporations to drive the transition to renewables.
- The Greens believe no new coal and gas mines should be opened and want electrification as quickly as possible.
- The climate wars are not between political parties, but between the people, the planet, and the colossal money behind coal and gas corporations.
This is roughly what the Greens have achieved with their negotiations so far.
The Road Ahead
To secure a sustainable future, we need to:
- make our next car an electric car
- add solar panels and batteries
- install grid-smart EV chargers
- replace old gas water heaters with heat pumps
- replace gas with electric cooking
- halt new coal and gas mines
- tax the profits of big coal and gas corporations
- and reform the petroleum resource rent tax.
The orange area shows the royalties paid by fossil fuel corporations in Australia and Norway.
Most importantly, we must push the governing Labor Party to make the right decisions.
The Gas Industry Are Desperate
As Bandt aptly put it,
“We’re witnessing the last gasp of gas and like a cornered animal, they will fight tooth and nail to slow down the electrification transition.”
The decisions made by the Federal Labor government in the coming months will determine the speed of electrification in Australia. And the signs, at this point, are concerning.
My Two Cents
What we need now more than ever is strong leadership to push back against the gas companies.
Unfortunately, just yesterday, the SA Energy Minister told gas companies his government is:
“at your disposal”.
Electrification makes economic sense for the country and democratises energy, making it inherently efficient, anti-inflationary, and egalitarian. Don’t let the gas companies or captured pollies tell you otherwise.