[Greens-Media] Wake up call for NSW electricity generation and coal industry

[John Kaye]

Wake up call for NSW electricity generation and coal industry
 
Media release: 13 November 2008
 
A call by the world's peak energy body for a global transition to
sustainability is a wake up call for the Rees government to manage the
transition from coal fired power stations, according to Greens NSW MP
John Kaye.
 
Dr Kaye said, "The release of the annual outlook by the International
Energy Agency (IEA) is a stark reminder that electricity generation must
move beyond last century’s carbon intensive dinosaurs and turn to
renewable energy sources and greater efficiencies.
 
"The IEA is the leading international body on energy resources and they
are warning that continued business as usual will result in global
temperatures rising 6 degrees by the end of the century. This will be an
appalling legacy to leave future generations.
 
"In the face of this reputable and credible threat it is the height of
irresponsibility for the Australian Coal Association to play marketing
games by rebadging its destructive product as 'NewGen' or new generation
coal.
 
"So-called 'carbon capture and storage' technology remains a fiction
with none of the four projects operating globally viable on a commercial
basis.
 
"IEA head Nobuo Tanaka has warned that big question marks remain over
'clean coal' technology.
 
"The Rees government would do better to invest in proven renewable
sources such as wind, solar and other forms of renewable generation and
manage demand to reduce production of greenhouse gases from coal-fired
power stations.
 
"Handing over the retail electricity sector to private industry will
seriously undermine efforts to better manage demand, while selling
trading rights to the private sector will reinforce the business as
usual message.
 
"Future generations will need more than empty spin from politicians and
industry bodies that are prepared to place profits above the future of
the planet.
 
"The sale and lease of electricity management to the private sector
will be a glaring lost opportunity of the Rees government in the eyes of
future generations," Dr Kaye said. 
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455