Big coal companies endanger mining jobs
12 Oct 2009
The Australian Government is doing more to preserve the jobs of coal miners than the companies that continue to make multi-billion dollar profits from coal, according to new analysis from WWF-Australia and the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU).
The report Power to Change: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) shows that the federal government has already committed $2.5 billion to CCS projects. The coal industry by contrast has only committed $512.9 million out to 2017 through its Coal 21 fund. That commitment is less than the government compensation of $750 million to the coal industry under the proposed CPRS.
"It is remarkable that the Australian Coal Association is running a scare campaign telling miners that the transition to a low carbon economy could cost them their jobs and yet the industry itself is doing so little to invest in its own future," said Mr Paul Toni, WWF-Australia's Program Leader for Development and Sustainability
"Climate change is already here, a low carbon economy is fast approaching and yet these companies seem to be putting more effort into seeking exemptions from carbon charges than they are putting into developing CCS and preserving their future."
The analysis also highlights the urgent need for investment in CCS if Australia is to successfully reduce its carbon emissions enough to be part of the international effort to avoid runaway climate change. According to the report, construction of a large-scale CCS facility must begin within two years and testing must be underway within five years if our emissions are to be reduced in time.
Should CCS succeed the report estimates that greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power generation could be reduced by around 80 per cent. Currently, the report shows 37 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions come from fossil fuel-fired electricity generation.
"It's time for coal companies to stump up the cash and just get on with securing the future of the industry in this time of transition rather than looking at filling up their already groaning coffers with more government handouts," said Tony Maher, CFMEU National President.
"We have more than 20,000 members working in the mining and energy generation sector who are smart enough to see that the government has already committed more than twice as much as the coal industry has on CCS. That figure alone is enough to tell them who really cares about the future of coal miners."
Equally important is that once CCS is proven, building new and retrofitted coal-fired power stations will require large workforces. This has the potential to create thousands of additional jobs and create an investment bonanza for Australian companies here and overseas.
"It is time we stopped treating the development of CCS as a burden and see it as an opportunity. If we move quickly we will lead the world in CCS technology and our expertise will be required by every country that burns coal to produce power," Mr Maher said.
Report available online at wwf.org.au/ourwork/climatechange/powertochange
More information
Alvin Stone, Press Officer, WWF-Australia
Mobile: 0410 221 068
Email: astone@wwf.org.au
Tim Fitzsimmons, Essential Media
Phone: 02 8280 9103
Email: tim@essentialmedia.com.au
