Governments
around Australia are under pressure to allow development of coal seam gas and
shale gas reserves. The pressure is from
the gas industry and associated industries which will profit from gas mining - as
well as the Federal Government.
The
Federal Government is pushing the expansion of the on-shore gas industry in NSW,
Victoria, the Northern Territory and elsewhere because it claims this is
necessary to ensure cheaper gas is available for Australian households,
manufacturing industries and electricity generation.
Currently
there is more than enough on-shore gas being produced for domestic purposes but
it is all being exported due to the failure of successive federal and state governments
to have sufficient reserved for domestic use.
The
Northern Territory situation has been in the news in recently because of an
inquiry into the risks of fracking (hydraulic fracturing) if the industry is
allowed to go ahead there. The current
moratorium on the industry and the inquiry is the result of an election pledge
by the government elected in August 2016.
If the moratorium
is lifted, there will be serious climate
implications according to the Australia Institute.
In its
submission to the inquiry the Institute stated, “Even a 5% increase in
Australia’s emissions from a single gasfield is a large and unacceptable
increase. It is completely inconsistent
with Australia’s carbon budget and our commitments under the Paris agreement.”
The Institute
claimed that burning the NT’s total gas resource would emit 12.2 billion tonnes
of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Then
there is the problem of fugitive methane emissions from seepage and leaks. And methane is a much more potent greenhouse
gas than carbon dioxide – particularly over shorter periods.
However,
carbon emissions are only one of the major problems noted by those who oppose
the development of the industry. Others
include concern about water use and contamination of aquifers, the risks to
human health and the poor record of the government in ensuring compliance with
mining development conditions.
It will
be very interesting to see what the NT Government decides.
- Leonie Blain
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on March 5, 2018.
