G7 Energy Economy: gas will remain key for Australia

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reassured its oil and gas sector that the Coalition will continue to back them during the transition to a “new energy economy”.

CAPE TOWN, June 15 (ANA) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reassured its oil and gas sector that the Coalition will continue to back them during the transition to a “new energy economy”.

According to the Guardian, Morrison held a video conference on Tuesday with the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association to brief them on the government’s plans to cut emissions by half by 2030.

This follows the G7 summit in London where the host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said the G7 leaders agreed to a “nature compact” to drive a global Green Industrial Revolution.

Climate change was the key topic at the summit as leaders said it was an “existential threat” and agreed to renew a pledge to raise $100 billion a year to help developing countries cut emissions and move away from coal.

“I want you to know we are backing you to stay on top as one of the world’s leading exporters of LNG, and with a plan here in Australia that sees gas as key, the key to securing reliable, affordable energy in a transitioning energy market, moving to a new energy economy,” said Morrison.

“I know there is a new energy economy coming and we need to be ready for it, we need to be part of it, and we will be successful in it,” he said.

Morrison added that the transition will not come at the cost of the manufacturing industries nor through higher taxes, but that it will come through technology, innovation and the entrepreneurship of industry leaders.

Meanwhile, gas has shown to have half the carbon dioxide emissions of coal when burned for energy.

Last month, ABC News reported that the Australian government confirmed it would spend up to $600 million to build a new gas-fired power station in Kurri Kurri, in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley.

Morrison said the project would create 600 jobs in the region in order to build the 660-megawatt open cycle gas turbine to ensure reliability of the power grid over the next few years.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher