Do emus bury their heads in the sand?

Burning coal produces so much CO2 that driving the latest fuel-efficient petrol cars can produce fewer greenhouse gases than driving an electric car that is recharged using electricity from a coal-fired power plant, according to research from China.

There is no such thing as 'clean coal'. Burning natural gas emits 50 to 60 percent less CO2 and, of course, wind, hydro, geo-thermal and solar produce 100% fewer emissions.

Solar is the cheapest way to produce electricity and yet residents of the 'Sunburnt Country' endure some of the highest energy bills in the world. With its world-class universities, enormous coastline, vast land mass, abundant sunshine and small population, Australia could be a global leader in renewable energy and associated technologies. Surely, we owe it to future generations to fulfil this potential?

The worst climate money can buy

And yet politicians and vocal sections of the media have constructed a web of fear and misinformation about the subject.

Coal = prosperity?Yes, for shareholders of coal producers. Swiss-based Glencore is Australia's largest coal producer, Chinese-controlled Yancoal Is #3. 86% of the Australian mining industry is foreign owned, according to The Australia Institute.

Coal = government revenues? Several coal companies pay corporation tax, but too many profits accrue outside of Australia. Coal producers delivered less than 1 per cent of Commonwealth government revenue in 2013. Even in sun-drenched yet coal-obsessed Queensland coal revenues have dropped to less than 3 per cent of this year's state budget. Not great returns for the billions spent subsidising the coal industry.

Coal = jobs?In November 2018, the industry employed fewer than 50,000 people, less than 0.4 per cent of Australia's total workforce. In 2014, politicians declared that Adani's new Carmichael mine would create at least 10,000 jobs. The company was later forced to admit that the mine would create just 1,464 new jobs – and only 100 of these will be ongoing.

Green energy = fewer jobs? More nonsense. Green energy equals more jobs, according to numerous reports on the subject from the likes of EY & The Climate Council and RMIT. Investing in renewable energy and technologies will create jobs in industries that are sustainable - for generations.

Green energy = unreliable power. Australia has one of the world's largest reserves of natural gas (75 per cent of which is exported). Using gas-fired power stations to provide the baseload, leveraging our abundant non-fossil-fuel natural resources and investing heavily in battery technology, Australia's power could be the greenest, cheapest and most reliable in the world – and fuel a host of exciting new industries and jobs for the next generation and beyond.

Australia's leaders need to accept the science and help Australia to be at the forefront of the low-carbon economy of the future. There is still time.

But it will require change.