“The Government is going to have to do more than a small U-turn on solar. It will need to start the big U-turn away from coal for domestic energy and exports,” Greenpeace said Tuesday.
“Touting nuclear energy and clean coal technology as the silver bullets for climate change is morally wrong and irresponsible. These are not solutions to climate change because action needs to be taken right now … we have solutions in wind, solar and biomass, which can provide baseload power.”
New South Wales Minerals Council CEO Dr Nikki Williams said Greenpeace has ignored a key thrust of the review’s findings, which is that coal will continue to be important in the energy mix around the world and that carbon capture and storage are essential to avert climate change impacts.
The review by former World Bank chief economist Sir Nicholas Stern was commissioned by the UK Government in July 2005.
“The conclusion of the review is essentially optimistic. There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we act now and act internationally,” Stern said Tuesday.
“Governments, businesses and individuals all need to work together to respond to the challenge. Strong, deliberate policy choices by governments are essential to motivate change.”
Williams said the Stern Review underpins what the mining industry has recognised for some time, that solving climate change is not about picking winners.
“It is about successfully developing and deploying a whole suite of solutions including renewables and low emission coal technologies such as carbon capture and storage,” she said.
“Once again, Greenpeace is employing its twisted logic to try to shut down the mining industry, calling for coal workers to be transitioned into other jobs.
“The coal industry is built on the efforts of hard-working, honest people who make a magnificent contribution to their communities and regions. It might suit Greenpeace to position coal miners as social outcasts, but the truth is they keep the lights on and the economy growing.”
The Minerals Council of Australia said Tuesday that the key messages of the Stern Review underscore the Australian minerals industry’s policy position and strategic initiatives.
“We shoulder a huge responsibility given that there is universal agreement that fossil fuels will continue to comprise in the order of 80-85 percent of the world’s primary energy supply,” MCA chief executive Mitchell Hooke said.
“We welcome the Stern Report’s emphasis on the importance of breakthrough technologies … for fossil fuels this means continued effort in carbon capture and storage, cleaner coal production, development of the hydrogen economy, and increased efficiency in minerals and metals production.”
