<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/peter-duttons-nuclear-accounting-trick-4-assume-climate-change-has-no-cost/>
"Most types of greenhouse gases last decades to centuries once released in the
atmosphere and so the overall level of global warming the planet experiences
will be a function of our cumulative emissions over time.
While it would be great if we can reach net-zero emissions in 2050, the level
of warming we’re in for will be a result of not just emissions in 2050, but
also the years prior to 2050.
The Liberal-National Party’s preferred plan for the electricity system involves
slowing the replacement of coal with renewable energy over the next decade and
instead waiting until the 2040’s to undertake a concerted replacement of coal
with nuclear power. This leads to almost 1 billion extra tonnes of CO₂
emissions compared to the so called Labor Scenario (AEMO’s Step Change) from
the electricity sector.
There’s also substantial additional emissions from outside the electricity
sector due to the Coalition’s preference to maintain consumption of petroleum
for transport and natural gas for heating in homes and industry.
The Coalition’s consultant didn’t elect to provide any information to calculate
these extra non-electricity emissions. However as detailed in part 3 of this
series, it’s possible using AEMO data and the average fuel efficiency of EVs
and petroleum-fueled vehicles to estimate extra petrol consumption in the
Liberal Party scenario of 203 billion litres. This would add an extra 466
million tonnes of CO₂ to atmosphere.
The extra CO₂ carries a cost in terms of the damage global warming is expected
to inflict on people.
It is interesting to note that the consultant who prepared the Liberal-National
Party costing has acknowledged the existence of data prepared by the Australian
Energy Regulator that would allow them to attribute an economic cost on this
extra CO₂.
Yet the consultant explicitly chose to place no economic value at all on carbon
emissions. If they had applied the value recommended by the regulator then it
would have added $392 billion in extra cost to the Liberal Party Scenario
compared to an extra $75 billion to the Labor Scenario."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
