Antinuclear

Biofuels conference October 31 – impportance of biofuels for Australia

Biofuels: the forgotten element in Australia’s renewable energy sector, Transport & Logistics News,  October 16, 2014 On 31 October, the Biofuels Association of Australia will hold its annual conference ‘A New Energy for Biofuels’, which will serve as a timely platform for discussion regarding the fragile state of Australia’s developing biofuels industry.

With the future of the biofuels industry under threat as a result of the Australian Government’s about face on the excise tax on biofuels and the dumping of unsustainably-sourced Australian government subsidised foreign biofuels, this conference is set against the backdrop of ever-increasing costs of energy and fuel in Australia.

Australia is the world’s leading per capita contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions from electricity production currently on the rise for the first time after six years of consistent reductions. The necessity of adopting policies mandating the development and implementation of renewable energy schemes was discussed at the recent UN Climate Summit in New York.

“While countries across the globe have embraced biofuels, Australia is reducing support for our own fledgling biofuels industry, backing away from an energy option which not only guarantees significant economic, environmental and public health benefits but which limits our dependence on foreign imported fuels and creates employment in rural areas,” said Gavin Hughes, CEO of the Biofuels Association of Australia.

In 2001 the then Howard coalition government laid down a world leading vision for growing the renewable sector, putting in place a target for Australian biofuel consumption and setting a Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (now RET) for clean power generation. Both the RET and the Biofuels target were designed to diversify Australia’s energy production mix to include greater investment in clean energy sources. Recommendations such as those contained in the RET review- if implemented – and the changes to biofuels excise support – will have a devastating effect on existing investments in Australia’s renewable energy sector, including the loss of thousands of jobs in the solar, wind and biofuels industries.

Today, a staggering 90% of Australia’s liquid fuel requirement is imported- a dramatic leap from 60% in 2000- and continues to increase despite advances in the potential to use domestically-produced renewable options such as biofuels. This near-total dependence poses a threat to national security as Australia would only be able to independently sustain its energy needs for three weeks without imported fuels.

While many of Australia’s leading trade partners such as China and India have enacted mandates to grow investment in biofuel utilisation, Australia is falling behind global trends as there are no government mandates in place to support the biofuels industry………….

Benefits of biofuels

The advantages of biofuels are extensive and well-known; they encompass benefits impacting the economy, the environment and public health. These include:

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions; lessened reliance on fossil fuels.
• Economic development opportunities.
• Energy independence and enhanced energy security.
• Improved air quality and associated public health benefits. (According to the OECD, deaths associated with ambient air pollution in Australia have risen from 882 to 1483 over the period of 2005-2010.)
• Job creation, especially in rural areas.

Speaking at the event will be:………http://www.tandlnews.com.au/2014/10/16/article/biofuels-forgotten-element-australias-renewable-energy-sector/

October 18, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy