Canavan ignorant of technology and climate. Coal should be phased out in a decade

MEDIA RELEASE – 28 March 2018

NSW Greens energy and resources spokesman Jeremy Buckingham today labelled federal resources minister Matt Canavan ignorant on disruptive technology and negligent on climate change as Canavan sets up a panel to push more fossil fuel mining in Australia.

“Pushing coal mining in an age of climate change and cheap, mature renewable energy is not only negligent, but is like advocating fax machines in the age of the internet,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“The science very clearly says that 90% of coal must remain in the ground if we are to have even a 50% chance of keeping global warming under the two degree target that Australia signed up to at the Paris climate summit.

“The Greens want coal mining in NSW phased out within a decade. That is the only path to preventing runaway climate change.  That’s not hyperbole,  that is unfortunately the physical reality we face.

“Rather than ignorantly promoting polluting fossil fuels, Australian governments should be working on transition packages to rapidly transition our energy system to renewable energy and to transition mining dependent communities to other economic sectors.

“History is full of disruptive technologies rapidly replacing existing technologies. The motor vehicle and the horse and cart, film and digital cameras, sailing ships and steam ships, mobile phones, computers, and it is clear that renewable energy, which is rapidly decreasing in price and does not pollute the atmosphere is a disruptive technology that is spreading very fast.

“To tie the Australian economy to the extraction of fossil fuels and runaway climate change is a shockingly bad move from a government that is failing on climate change and lacks a sensible energy policy.”