Climate campaigners in the southern state of Victoria have urged the state Labor government to kickstart its new round of carbon emission cuts by shutting Australia’s “dirtiest” brown coal power station within three years.
The state government will sign off within three months on deep new interim targets for cutting Victoria’s carbon pollution, with a five-year plan for reductions of up to 40 per cent on 2005 levels being considered along with a 10-year plan for 60 per cent reductions.
The government’s adviser on the proposed cuts, former federal Labor MP Greg Combet, said the national bushfire crisis has sharpened the focus on the climate change debate and that politicians must respond to the public’s desire for action in the wake of the emergency.
Melbourne’s The Age newspaper reports experts have warned that ambitious targets will be difficult to achieve without reducing the activities of the vast brown coal burning power stations in the Latrobe Valley in the state’s east, which still supply the bulk of Victoria’s electricity.
Federal Labor Leader Anthony Albanese welcomed the news of Victoria’s impending emissions cuts, saying he supported the Victorian government taking action on climate change and that Labor’s national policy on carbon emissions would be revealed at a later date.
The Victoria state Liberal-National opposition declined to comment on the Labor government’s move.
The Australian Greens Party said the state government must focus on coal if it was to achieve meaningful emissions cuts.
“Burning coal for energy is the biggest cause of climate change,” Australian Greens state leader Samantha Ratnam said.
“If Premier (Daniel) Andrews wants to lead the way he needs a detailed plan to phase out coal power stations, replace with clean energy and support workers through the transition.”
Campaign group Environment Victoria reacted to the news by calling for even more ambitious targets, saying that even cuts of 60 per cent by 2030 would not prevent global warming from exceeding the vital two degrees Celsius mark.
The group’s chief executive Jono LaNauze commended the Victorian government for responding to the climate fears raised by the fires.
“With the unprecedented fires still ripping through our nation, people are understandably frightened about the climate crisis,” Mr LaNauze said.
Environment Victoria commissioned expert advice last year from Reputex Energy that found that a boost to renewable energy generation in the state could enable the closure of the Yallourn power plant nine years earlier than its planned shutdown in 2032 and without the disruption and power price spikes that accompanied the sudden shutdown of the nearby Hazelwood station in 2017.
The Age reports Yallourn’s owners Energy Australia, which employs 500 people at the station, did not respond to a request for comment but the company’s longstanding position is that it intends to operate the plant until 2032 or for as long as policy and regulation permit, and that there is not a substantial change in the market.
The state’s main coal lobby group, the Minerals Council of Victoria did not respond to a request for comment.
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