AUSTRALIA’s Resources Minister Madeleine King unveiled plans to keep natural gas burning beyond 2050 as part of its Future Gas Strategy unveiled on Thursday, the 9th of May.
King said the country’s dependence on fossil fuel would not hinder its pledge to reach net zero emissions in the next 30 years.
Australia – one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas – pledged to reach net zero emissions in 2050.
The government plans to sit down with industry and state leaders to talk about increasing the production and exploration of fossil fuels as well as the expansion of the country’s existing gas projects while it continues to ship gas overseas.
The government argued these gas projects are needed to support Australia’s domestic energy supply as it works on its goal to deliver 82% of renewable energy to the grid by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the gas strategy, saying it would not jeopardize the country’s climate commitments and assured of his government’s commitment to a net-zero future.
According to government data, gas accounts for 27% of Australia’s existing energy needs and is responsible for roughly a quarter of the country’s total emissions.
Meanwhile, critics described the government’s future gas strategy as a rejection of science that opposed the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) call for a significant reduction in the use of coal, oil, and gas to reach climate targets.
The spokesman for the Australian Conservation Foundation said the strategy was a “climate disaster” that needed to be abandoned as the burning of the highly polluting fossil fuel triggers bushfires, heatwaves, coral bleaching, and flooding in Australia and beyond.
Anti-mining group Lock the Gate described the gas plan as a looming “fossil fuel disaster.”
