Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Environment Centre NT's Kirsty Howey welcomes the Federal Government's safeguard mechanism on climate change policy saying it could spell the end of new gas projects in the NT

Transcript

Environment Centre NT's Kirsty Howey welcomes the Federal Government's safeguard mechanism on climate change policy saying it could spell the end of new gas projects in the NT · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: As I mentioned just a short time ago, we know
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  Speaker 1: that nationally a pretty big decision was made yesterday that
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  Speaker 1: could have significant ramifications for the Northern Territory. The federal government,
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  Speaker 1: of course securing the support that it needs to implement
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  Speaker 1: its central climate change commitment after reaching a deal with
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  Speaker 1: the Greens following months of safeguard mechanism negotiations. Now the
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  Speaker 1: safeguard mechanism it is going to impose emissions limits on
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and fifteen of the largest polluting facilities in
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  Speaker 1: the country, and the Greens support for the policy requires
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  Speaker 1: the government to impose a hard cap on emissions. Adam
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  Speaker 1: Bant says it will stop one hundred and sixteen coal
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  Speaker 1: and gas projects from being able to open. Apia, Australia's
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  Speaker 1: oil and gas industry body says the changes to the
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  Speaker 1: safeguard mechanism ignore the central role of natural gas in
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  Speaker 1: meeting Australia's climate goals, but the Environment Center for the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory says that the decision sounds the death knell
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  Speaker 1: for the new gas pro projects in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 1: including the Beaterloo and the Barossa projects. Now joining me
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  Speaker 1: on the line is Kirsty Howie, executive director of the
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  Speaker 1: Environment Center here in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, Kirsty.
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  Speaker 2: Hi Katie, how are you?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? Really good, Thanks so much for your time this morning. Now,
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  Speaker 1: what was your reaction to yesterday's announcement.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it was a really momentous moment I suppose in
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  Speaker 2: the long and turgid history of climate action in Australia.
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  Speaker 2: It's probably the most significant decision that's been taken from
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  Speaker 2: a federal perspective on climate in at least a decade.
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  Speaker 2: And we think it's got serious implications for Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: gas projects, including the Beadlo and the Baroca that were
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  Speaker 2: singled out by Adam Bant in the announcement yesterday, and
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  Speaker 2: put real hurdles in front of those projects proceeding, which
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  Speaker 2: we think is a good thing because these projects are
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  Speaker 2: carbon bombs that are going to have a significant impact
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  Speaker 2: on the climate, not just here but globally and they
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  Speaker 2: really shouldn't proceed if we are to have a safe
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  Speaker 2: and livable climate in the future.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, what do you think it's going to mean for
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  Speaker 1: those projects? I know that certainly APIA have been out
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  Speaker 1: saying that the deal announced would ultimately make Australia's climate
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  Speaker 1: change targets harder and more costly to meet. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: what do you make of the announcement I mean of
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  Speaker 1: the announcement yesterday in terms of the impact for the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Well, of course, our position is is that gas projects
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  Speaker 2: and Happier is the peak body for the gas industry
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  Speaker 2: in Australia, will increase emissions and they shouldn't play a
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  Speaker 2: part in getting to net zero. They can't play a
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  Speaker 2: part in getting to net zero. But the really key
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  Speaker 2: thing here with respect to Northern territory gas projects is
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  Speaker 2: that it's going to add to the costs of these
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  Speaker 2: projects going ahead. So in the case of the Beteloo Basin,
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  Speaker 2: this is a huge, huge project in terms of its emissions.
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  Speaker 2: Some twenty two million tons of emissions per year will
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  Speaker 2: be generated just from extraction of that gas and processing
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  Speaker 2: probably in Darwin. And what this deal says is that
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  Speaker 2: the gas companies need to pay for the cost of
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  Speaker 2: that pollution and to offset that pollution. We estimate that
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  Speaker 2: at about eight hundred million dollars per year. But the
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  Speaker 2: gas companies are going to need to find and it
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  Speaker 2: could be more like one point five billion dollars a
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  Speaker 2: year to offset those emissions. So it's a significant cost
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  Speaker 2: on new entrants from coal and gas projects across Australia,
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  Speaker 2: but particularly in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: Kirsty, do you think the decision is going to mean
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  Speaker 1: we have power issues on the East Coast or that
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  Speaker 1: it could mean increases to the cost of power.
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  Speaker 2: Look, I don't think that's the case at all.
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  Speaker 3: The reality is about the gas industry in Australia is
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  Speaker 3: that three quarters of gas in Australia gets exported. We
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  Speaker 3: don't have a gas supply issue, We've got a gas
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  Speaker 3: export issue, and these gas companies are making literally billions of.
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  Speaker 2: Dollars off these exports. That's going to be the same
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  Speaker 2: with Beaterloo Gas and Borosagas for that moment, which for
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  Speaker 2: that manner, which is coming off a project north of
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  Speaker 2: the Tiery Islands, so it's exported and it's planned to
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  Speaker 2: be exported, so it's not going to have any impact
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  Speaker 2: on prices within Australia whether or not this goes ahead.
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  Speaker 2: We reject that assertion.
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  Speaker 1: And so when it comes to power security, not just
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  Speaker 1: for not just for us here in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 1: but across the nation. You don't feel as though yesterday's
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  Speaker 1: announcement it's going to have any impact in any way.
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  Speaker 1: It is still going We're going to be able to
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  Speaker 1: forge ahead with renewables and it's not going to cost
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  Speaker 1: more money.
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  Speaker 2: Look, we think that there's an obvious path which is renewables,
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  Speaker 2: and instead of putting all our stock in the gas industry,
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  Speaker 2: which is what's been happening here. From a Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: government perspective and an Australian government perspective, we need to
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  Speaker 2: be transitioning much more quickly to renewable energy. And as
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  Speaker 2: I said before, we don't have a gas supply issue
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  Speaker 2: in Australia. What we don't have is a domestic gas
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  Speaker 2: reservation policy. It means that the huge profits that these
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  Speaker 2: companies are making from gas that Australians and everyday people
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  Speaker 2: in Australia and people who are paying their electricity bills
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  Speaker 2: can feel the benefit of. So that's a massive failure
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  Speaker 2: of Australian energy policy and this particular policy won't have
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  Speaker 2: any impact on that.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Kirsty, how it is always good to catch up
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  Speaker 1: with you. I'm sorry we don't have more time. We
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  Speaker 1: will no doubt talk to you again in the very
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  Speaker 1: near future. Thank you for having a chat.
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  Speaker 2: This morning, Thanks Katie, and thanks to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.