<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/facts-not-politics-kean-fights-coalition-attempts-to-silence-him-but-will-he-stand-alone/>
"Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean has thrown the federal Coalition’s
words back in its face as he fights attempts by the LNP energy spokesman Ted
O’Brien to silence his analysis on the would-be government’s nuclear power
policy.
An extraordinary dispute has erupted since the CCA released on Monday its
analysis of the emissions impact of the Coalition’s stated plans to delay the
closure of coal generators, burn more gas, and tear up wind and solar contracts
as it waits for commercial small modular reactors to be invented and large
scale nuclear power plants to be built.
The CCA analysis, that it will ruin Australia’s climate targets and result in
up to two billion tonnes of extra emissions, is hardly controversial – it’s
based on the very modelling that the Coalition uses to justify its nuclear
power policy. If you burn more fossil fuels, it’s seems obvious to observe that
it will result in more emissions.
But the Coalition has attempted to silence the CCA and Kean – a former state
Liberal government energy minister and treasurer – first by threatening to sack
him, and even to disband the CCA, the agency it defenestrated and then ignored
for nearly a decade while in government.
The Coalition has already attacked agencies such as the CSIRO and the
Australian Energy Market Operator, who have repeatedly pointed out the cost and
impracticalities of waiting for nuclear in Australia’s grid, and have taken
issue with the latest parliamentary report into nuclear that also notes it is
too slow and too expensive.
These threats, particularly the brazen one against the CCA, should disturb the
renewable energy industry, and all Australians, particularly in the lead up to
a federal election that hangs in the balance, with the Coalition now seen as
equally likely as Labor to be gain power, even if in a minority government.
The Coalition has form, of course, from the Abbott years through to the
Morrison administration that cancelled the carbon price, sought to scrap the
renewable energy target, and tried unsuccessfully to eliminate institutions
such as the CCA, the CEFC and ARENA.
It now seems emboldened by the tactics of the new Trump-Musk administration in
the US, which is systemically seeking to destroy key government agencies, scrap
climate and clean energy programs, remove “climate” from the government
lexicon, and seek judicial retribution against anyone who tries to stand in
their way.
The Coalition – at the urging of the fossil fuel industry – has already
promised a similar menu in Australia, bringing wind and solar to a halt,
stopping new transmission links, and removing environmental considerations from
regulatory decisions."
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
