Vittorio Hernandez
Steam and other emissions rise from a coal-fired power station near Lithgow, 120 km (75 miles) west of Sydney, July 7, 2011.
Reuters/Daniel Munoz
An economic modelling commissioned by Australia’s Climate
Institute pushed for the closure of the country’s coal-powered plants to
meet the less than 1.5 degrees increase in global warming under the
Paris Climate Change agreement. To reach that target, Australia must
source 90 percent of its electricity for renewable energy.
The shuttering of the coal-fired plants
is needed because relying solely on an emissions trading scheme would
not be sufficient, unless the carbon price is high which could not be
politically accepted by industries, says the modelling made by Jacobs,
energy market consultants, released on Friday. However, closing over 80
percent of existing coal power generation within five years after 2030
would cause significant social and economic disruption in some
communities, such as the Latrobe Valley, reports The Sydney Morning
Herald.
Jacobs says that a carbon trading scheme with more modest price of $40
per tonne could only meet the country’s immediate target of reducing
emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2030. It would also translate into a 60
percent reduction in clean energy growth from 2020, reports 9News.
However, phasing out of coal facilities and heavier reliance
on clean sources would provide Australia with the best chance to cut
emissions effectively to zero by 2050, points out the institute. If it
would rely on carbon price alone, it must be $70 by 2020 and increased
to $100 by 2030.
The federal Coalition government is against carbon pricing
and had repealed the carbon law passed during the term of former Prime
Minister Julia Guillard. The phase out of coal and more reliance on
cleaner energy would cost the government $50 billion more during the 30
years compared to relying on an emissions trading scheme only.
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