“What these figures will no doubt show is that the Howard Government has failed to tackle emissions from energy generation. And they still have no plan to do so.
“The strategy of both old parties appears to be to pin their hopes on cleaning up coal while dismissing renewable energy. There is no example anywhere in the world of fully operational carbon capture and storage from coal fired power. On the other hand, there are numerous examples of renewable energy supplying large amounts of baseload power across Europe and America.
“The Government’s strategy to push nuclear power in Australia is a dangerous distraction from the main game. Not only can it have no impact on reducing greenhouse emissions for at least 15 years – far too late to avoid runaway climate change – but it has already landed Australia the label of ‘a country of potential nuclear strategic concern’, along with such illustrious company as Syria, Libya and Kazakhstan.
“The irony is that Australia’s current reliance on coal makes it easy for us to reduce emissions fast using energy efficiency and renewable energy. Because our energy is currently so heavily polluting, small changes can have a very big impact indeed, as we set out in the Greens paper, Re-Energising Australia, last week.”