Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 22 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Australian election spells new

uncertainty for energy

GLOBAL AUSTRALIA’S federal election, held on May 21, rejection of Morrison’s stance on climate change,
has resulted in a change of government following with Albanese talking about ending the “climate
a victory by the Australian Labor Party (ALP). wars” in his victory speech and saying that Aus-
The ALP secured an outright majority in the tralia had the potential to become a “renewable
House of Representatives, while the Australian energy superpower”.
Greens had secured their best ever result in the However, it is thought to be unlikely that the
election, potentially putting them in a position new government will significantly change its
to take a tougher line on climate change and existing environmental and climate policies
environmental issues and challenge the ALP. – though it will come under more pressure to
Climate-focused independents also achieved adopt a tougher stance. And the ALP’s plan for
better results in the election than expected. reducing emissions only targets certain sectors
The shift has been described as significant for but it seems that oil and gas producers are likely
Australia, which was previously seen as lagging to face a gradual tightening of acceptable emis-
compared to other developed countries when it sions levels.
came to tackling climate change. Early sugges- Albanese has ruled out a carbon tax, how-
tions for the turnaround in public sentiment on ever, and it seems that offsets will play a signif-
the issue include the fact that climate change has icant role in Australia’s decarbonisation plans.
been linked to recent natural disasters such as The country’s safeguard mechanism requires
bushfires. the largest polluters to offset emissions above
a certain threshold and the ALP has plans to
Under pressure make gradual reductions to baselines under that
The rise of Greens and independents looks set mechanism.
to ramp up pressure on fossil fuel producers Additionally, Albanese has resisted Green calls
in the country. Commentators are also seeing to end new coal and gas developments. Indeed,
the results as an indication of growing public the ALP gained ground in coal-mining areas in
appetite for tougher climate and environmental the election.
policies, given that a record number of climate The Greens, meanwhile, are pushing for a tar-
change-focused candidates has been elected. get of net-zero emissions by 2035 – rather than
The Greens wasted no time this week in call- the planned deadline of 2050. And some of the
ing for an end to all new coal and natural gas newly elected independents want to see emis-
developments in Australia. Indeed, Green leader sions reduced by at least 50% by 2030. While
Adam Bandt said preventing such projects from the ALP is anticipated to resist calls to bring in
going ahead in the country would be his party’s more ambitious targets than what it is currently
priority in negotiations with the ALP. planning, it appears that the party should expect
This comes as new Australian Prime Minis- ongoing pressure from Greens and those inde-
ter Anthony Albanese pledges to treat climate pendents that favour stricter environmental
change as more of a priority than his predecessor, policies.
Scott Morrison. This includes achieving a more
ambitious reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) What next?
emissions by 2030 and implementing policies The change in government in Australia coincides
to support that target. Albanese has said that he with a push among LNG operators in the coun-
would implement an emissions reduction target try – and others – to build carbon capture and
of 43% by 2030. This compares with a 26-28% storage (CCS) in order to address their emissions
cut from 2005 levels by 2030 as targeted by the footprints. However, CCS has come under fire
Morrison government. from environmental groups, among others, over
Indeed, the election result is viewed in part as a the fact that its use means GHGs are ultimately

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