Antinuclear

Coal’s death would not kill economy: Australia Institute, ABC Radio AM
By Peter Ryan, 16 Sept 16  Australia’s economy would not be hurt by a gradual phasing out of coal production across the country, research suggests.The Australia Institute-commissioned study found there would be minimal economic impact if the Government imposed a moratorium on new coal mines or the expansion of existing ones.

It also concluded that the managed winding back of coal production as existing mines are depleted would be an economic blip, given the industry’s share of employment which represents 0.04 per cent of the Australian workforce.

It estimated the economy would grow regardless of a phasing out, with a difference of just 0.06 per cent in 2040.

Professor Philip Adams, who led the research at Victoria University’s Centre of Policy Studies, told the ABC’s AM program environmental policies to put a tax on carbon were effectively a tax on the use of coal.

“The world outlook for coal is fairly bleak. We don’t see much likelihood of strong market conditions for coal over the longer term,” Professor Adams said.

Australia Institute chief economist Richard Dennis said the research was a wake-up call for the coal industry and the Federal Government.

“Look the end of coal is nigh. The question is whether it’s nigh enough,” Mr Dennis told AM.

“The effect is a rounding error — it’s trivial. The Australian economy will still double in size in the coming decades…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-16/coal-death-would-not-kill-economy/7851260?section=environment