[Greens-Media] MEDIA RELEASE - SENATOR CHRISTINE MILNE - Macfarlane captured and stored by coal industry

[Willis, Katrina (Sen C. Milne)]

MEDIA RELEASE

Sunday, 20 August 2006

Macfarlane captured and stored by coal industry

The Australian Greens today called on federal Industry and Resources
Minister Ian Macfarlane to stop misleading the public over the country's
capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the urgent need for
action.

Greens energy and climate change spokesperson Senator Christine Milne
said it was wrong of the Minister and the Howard government to rely so
heavily on an undiscovered technological fix to the world's most serious
environmental threat when the technology to address the problem exists
right now.

"Minister Macfarlane has been captured and stored by the coal industry.
He needs to wipe the coal dust from his eyes and see that geothermal and
solar thermal technologies exist right now to provide base load power
and that energy efficiency measures are staring him in the face,"
Senator Milne said.

"Carbon capture and storage, or geosequestration, is a proposed solution
which would take many years to develop if it ever can be shown to work.
Even then, coal to liquids as a transport fuel will emit exactly the
same greenhouse gas emissions from a vehicle tailpipe as conventional
oil.

"The Australian government has refused to maximise the capacity for
cutting emissions through energy efficiency, instead relying on
companies to do the right thing which hasn't worked, as transport and
energy emissions are rising alarmingly.

"In addition to the massive savings that could be made through energy
efficiency, Australia has the technology to produce more electricity
from renewable sources like solar and wind. 

"The real obstacle to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not
technological know-how; it is the government's reluctance to act."

Contact: Katrina Willis 0437 587 562 


Katrina Willis
Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
Phone 03 6234 4566
Fax 03 6234 2144
Mobile 0437 587 562
www.christinemilne.org.au