In the June 2014 CEDEX report from Pitt&Sherry, the firm stated that month “may mark the low point of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions for the foreseeable future”. It seems they were correct.
Pitt&Sherry’s latest CEDEX (carbon emissions index) shows increases in emissions from generators in the National Electricity Market (NEM) up to the end of November 2014 continued unabated from June.
“Annual emissions in the year to November 2014 were 3.2 Mt CO2e higher than in the year to June 2014, an increase of 2.2% in five months,” states the report.
“If this rate of increase were continue for a year, NEM electricity generation emissions would, by themselves, increase Australia’s total emissions by 1.4%. Since demand has continued to fall over the past five months, average emissions intensity has increased slightly more than total emissions – 2.4%.”
Data for November indicates a slowdown in the rate at which electricity demand is falling, with a tiny increase in annualised total NEM demand for the month. Total NEM demand is currently 8.1% lower than at its peak in late 2010.
With the Australian government being very pro-coal and anti-renewables, plus their ditching of the carbon tax; future reports from Pitt&Sherry may bring more bad news on the emissions front.
The Prime Minister’s level of focus on coal at the exclusion of clean and safe alternatives was made very apparent last month when he stated, “Coal is the foundation of the way we live because you can’t have a modern lifestyle without energy, you can’t have a modern economy without energy.”
“So if we are serious about raising people’s living standards in less developed countries, if we are serious about maintaining and improving living standards in countries like Australia we have to be serious about making the best use of coal.”
The emissions increase reported by Pitt&Sherry may prove an embarrassment for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Trade Minister Andrew Robb, who are currently attending multi-national climate talks in the Peruvian capital of Lima this week. The event is the latest in the series of discussions working towards a new international deal to limit rising greenhouse gas emissions.
But it seems Minister Bishop has an inkling of a plan to reverse emissions growth, one that will send a shiver down the spine of many Australians – nuclear energy.
Pitt&Sherry’s latest CEDEX report, which provides a comprehensive and early indication of key greenhouse gas and energy trends, can be viewed here (PDF).
