Government funds power project that relies on massive coal plant closures

The Morrison government is backing a new power connection between Tasmania and the mainland that would be unviable unless one-third of Australia’s coal-fired power capacity prematurely shuts down and greenhouse gas emissions fall far more dramatically than the Coalition has proposed.

One-third of the east coast's coal-fired power capacity
must close from 2025 for the new power link from
Tasmania to the mainland to be viable, a report has found.CREDIT:

But the government has rejected suggestions that it privately believes a massive coal shut-down is imminent, saying models such as those used in the Commonwealth-funded report are unreliable.

The Coalition on Monday sought to reposition itself on climate and energy policy with a $3.5 billion climate solutions package. It included up to $1.38 billion for Snowy 2.0 and $56 million to fast track the proposed Marinus link, a second electricity transmission cable under Bass Strait that would deliver Tasmania’s vast renewable energy resources to mainland states.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Marinus project would help deliver up to 2500 megawatts of reliable renewable hydro power, lower energy prices and reduce Australia’s emissions by 25 million tonnes by 2030.

Read the story from The Age by Nicole Hasham - “Government funds power project that relies on massive coal plant closures.”

One area where the banks are getting it right: curbing coal

Amid all the excitement over the bank royal commission, in the dying days of 2017 there were important changes at several of the big four that you may have missed.

The big banks have effectively ruled out financing the
expansion of thermal coal mining or coal-fired electricity. 

It became crystal clear the big four will no longer be backing the expansion of thermal coal mining, or coal-fired electricity, thus speeding up the economy’s shift towards renewable energy. 

Read the story by Clancy Yeates in today’s Melbourne Age - “One area where the banks are getting it right: curbing coal.”

The Geoengineering Fallacy

Geoengineering technologies are not yet deployable globally, but support for them is advancing fast, thanks to backing by powerful advocates eager to start experiments. But no silver bullet for climate change exists, and we must not abandon proven methods for the sake of a promise that one will be found.

BERLIN – As the world struggles to rein in emissions of climate-changing gases and limit planetary warming, a new technological silver bullet is gaining supporters. Geoengineering –the large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s natural systems – has been popularized as a means of counteracting the negative effects of climate change.

Proponents of this science feed the illusion that there is a way to engineer an exit from the climate crisis, meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and maintain a consumption-heavy lifestyle.

Read the Project Syndicate story by Barbara Unmüßig - “The Geoengineering Fallacy.”