Galilee basin coal must be left in ground as a ‘priority’ – new report

A coalmine in the Galilee basin in central
Queensland. A new report shows that existing
fossil fuel projects worldwide are enough
to push global warming beyond 2C.

Miners seeking the green light to dig up Queensland’s Galilee basin should be stopped as a priority, according to a new report showing existing fossil fuels projects worldwide are enough to push global warming beyond 2C.

The report by the research and advocacy group Oil Change International argues there is a compelling case for the six Galilee coalmining proposals in the hands of Australian regulators to be axed in line with a “managed decline” of global coal, oil and gas supplies already on tap.

It shows the embedded carbon emissions from operating fields and mines worldwide, if run to the end of their projected lifetimes, would drive warming beyond the 2C limit laid down by last year’s Paris agreement. Developed oil and gas reserves alone would take warming beyond the aspirational 1.5C target.

Read The Guardian story - “Galilee basin coal must be left in ground as a ‘priority’ – new report.”

The obvious is not always so obvious to many people

An obvious fact is that to mitigate climate change and avoid a catastrophic outcome, we need to change how we think.

Along with a structural change to our thinking and equal changes to our behaviour, how we live and what resources we draw upon.

This morning, Chris Uhlmann presented AM on Radio National’s RN Breakfast and during that, interviewed Shelagh Whitley of the Overseas Development Institute, who lamented the massive government support given to fossil fuel industries.

She pointed to the grants and tax breaks, amounting to billions of dollars just in Australia for production and exploration.

Ms Whitley pointed that if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change, then two thirds of the fossil fuels we already know exist must stay in the ground.

The implication of what she was saying is that further exploration is pointless and to subsidise it, or provide generous tax breaks with public money is foolhardy and so risks humanity’s future.

An extensive report compiled by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) through Oil Change International looks at depth at the complexities.