Climate change is the common backdrop to this election campaign. It is the key reason teal independents are threatening, making it even more difficult for the Coalition to win. But the community support for renewable energy and taking more action on climate change is much broader than that.
It’s why Scott Morrison belatedly moved his government to support zero net emissions by 2050. This shift was not only required for domestic political purposes but to avoid Australia being derided as an international pariah at risk of having its companies and economy downgraded by global investors and financial markets.
Senex Energy CEO and APPEA chair Ian Davies says the industry is at ‘the frontline of the decarbonisation challenge’.Yet for all the focus on the energy transition and decarbonisation, global greenhouse emissions from energy hit a record high last year, exceeding the previous record of 2019. It was the same story for the amount of coal-fired power generation, up 9 per cent, around the world.
That provides a very different backdrop to the annual conference of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association in Brisbane.Corporate progress on this will end up far more significant in combatting climate change than how many teal independents are elected.“The focus of our opponents on stopping fossil fuel projects has had no effect on consumer demand, and no effect on emissions’ reduction,” he said.
That is certainly accelerating both investment in renewables as the longer-term alternative but also the frantic search for reliable supplies of oil and gas to quickly replace those from Russia.to be successful as well as industries like oil and gas. He even argued today’s record high oil, gas and coal prices are “good for no one” given the damaging impact of the current energy crisis on so many economies and industries, including agriculture, and the risks of rising inflation.