The real concern is that the proliferation of coal seam gas extraction will slow the growth and viability of the Australian renewable energy industry in the long-term.
Renewable energy will only become the power source of the future if it is cheap and competitive. Although Australia appears to be on track to meet its 2020 renewable energy target of 20 per cent of energy supply, investment is renewable energy is certainly falling short compared to countries like Germany, which extensively supports its renewable industry with the aim of achieving a 100 per cent renewable energy supply.
The World Resources Institute argues that the proliferation of shale gas will make it difficult for renewable energy technologies to become cost competitive. Similarly, a 2011 British Parliamentary Report by the Energy and Climate Change Committee concluded that investment in the shale gas industry will divert investment away from renewable energy technologies.
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This is because cheap gas will drive energy prices down and divert investment away from research and development into renewables. This will shape the future of Australia’s energy industry, and will ultimately prevent the profound societal change that is required in order to shift society towards a future independent of fossil carbon.
It is important that Australia’s decision makers are not distracted by the possibility of increased export revenue from coal seam gas. We cannot lock ourselves into a fossil fuel future when we should be instead investing in renewable energies. It is important to remember that coal seam gas extraction still releases fugitive or leaked methane emissions.
In preparing for a future emissions constrained economy, investment in coal seam gas at the expense of renewable energy is senseless. Although it is impossible to skip a transitionary fuel phase to a 100 per cent renewable energy supply, we must ensure our investment in coal seam gas extraction is matched by our investment in renewable energy research and development.
If Australia is going to secure a truly clean energy future, it is important that we must not blindly transition to coal seam gas at the expense of our future renewable energy sector.
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