Antinuclear

Australia needs carbon price to reduce emissions

CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Australia’s carbon trap, Business Spectator, Giles Parkinson, 9 Aug 2010, It’s clearly not on the agenda of the front-running, Abbott-led Coalition, but a survey of Australia’s stationary energy emissions underlines the case of why a price on carbon would be a useful tool to reduce emissions.A report on Australia’s electricity generation and associated emissions from coal, gas, liquid fuel and renewables, undertaken for the Climate Group’s Electricity Generation Report suggests that Australia is both greener and dirtier at the same time.

The country cut both its output and its emissions from stationary energy in 2009, because of falling demand and the increased use of renewable and gas-fired power generation………..

But the cut in emissions could have been so much greater. The irony is that while renewable energy generation increased by 11.2 per cent and gas by 8 per cent, and most of Australia’s cleanest base-load stations reduced their output, Australia’s largest and dirtiest power stations – such as the Hazelwood, Yallourn, and Loy Yang A brown coal power stations in Victoria – increased both their output and their emissions in the past year……….

The state by state breakdown makes for interesting reading.:…..

CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Australia’s carbon trap | Giles Parkinson | Commentary | Business Spectator

August 8, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | carbon, climate change, climate change - global warming, renewable