Govt Must Exclude Polluting Gas from Clean Energy Investments To Prevent Environmental Damage

Beyond Zero Emissions welcomes the new Clean Energy Finance Corporation to support the rollout of renewable energy in Australia.

The $1 billion guaranteed funding for renewable energy is welcome. However the $1 billion unspecified portion per year needs to explicitly exclude fossil gas. Conventional gas and especially coal seam gas is dirty. In fact, due to dodgy accounting on fugitive emissions coal seam gas impacts are likely to be 80 to 150 times higher than claimed by industry.

Beyond Zero Emissions Executive Director Matthew Wright says:

“The worst thing we can do for the environment at this juncture is to back fossil gas. The building of a gas plant will lock in up to 60-years of gas burning, causing between 50 and 110 percent of the emissions of existing coal plants. This is due to new accounting on the total lifecycle of coal seam gas.  If Australia has a gas future it will be based on an eastern seaboard coal seam gas boom. Beyond Zero Emissions calls on the government, greens and independents to not allow the coal seam gas false start.”

“Gas is a diversion not a shortcut. Coal Seam Gas is a flashpoint dividing communities around the country,” says Wright.

Contact: Matthew Wright, Executive Director, +61 421 616 733