Coal seam gas in Australia's progression to a low carbon economy

2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Petersen ◽  
Hugh McKerrow

The previous decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in societal appreciation for the existence of climate change and its associated impacts. One need only look to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for evidence—between 1990 and 2007, scientific acceptance of the anthropogenic nature of climate change has risen from merely perhaps in 1990 to a certainty of 90% in 2007. As governments look to create imposts on the very emissions causing climate change, be it through emissions trading schemes (ETS) or through carbon taxes, an equally stark appreciation has occurred in relation to the need to switch to low emissions fuel source in the absence of carbon capture and storage. In contrast to the introduction of the EU ETS, fuel switching in Australia will be more problematic—now Australia sources only a small fraction of its energy supply from renewable energy sources and it will take some time for this to change. What is therefore needed, is a transition fuel—a fuel that will provide Australia with a stepping stone to a sustainable future while at the same time ensuring the security of our energy supply. Coal seam gas (CSG) could play an important part in this progression. Its role is not, however, without its complexities. In a world of daily regulatory and market developments, the CSG industry will need to incorporate both Australian and international climate change issues into its development plans - its physical, reputational, regulatory and market risks and opportunities. This extended abstract will examine the links between these exposures and the future growth potential of the industry.

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Sue Slater

This paper provides a brief update on some of the key environmental issues that arose during 2009. In Queensland, activity is dominated by coal seam gas projects and specifically coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. Environmental milestones for these projects are discussed, and the State Government’s response policy and regulation development response is reviewed. The progress of the more conventional LNG projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory is also discussed. The final report on the mandated ten year review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was released in December 2009. Seventy-one recommendations were made, and some key recommendations related to our industry are discussed here. Climate change has again dominated the media, with the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen in December 2009. In Queensland, the Government released a paper that presented a range of strategies and policies, building on a number of existing schemes and introducing new measures. Gas is identified as a key transitional fuel while low emission coal technology and emerging renewable energy sources are being developed. Greenhouse gas legislation is continuing to be developed across several states, but subordinate legislation is yet to be finalised. In Victoria, submissions on the Greenhouse Gas Geological Sequestration Regulations closed in October 2009, and the Greenhouse Gas Geological Sequestration Act 2008 came into effect on 1 December 2009. In March 2009, ten offshore acreage releases were made under the Commonwealth legislation; however, the closing date for submissions is dependent upon the development of the regulations. South Australia passed an Act amending the Petroleum and Geothermal Act 2000 on 1 October 2009 to allow geosequestration. A number of reviews of the regulatory framework or the administrative systems associated with the upstream oil and gas sector have been completed in the last decade. All these reviews make similar findings and recommendations, and most recently the Jones Report, tabled in Western Australian Parliament on 12 August 2009, found that most key recommendations from previous reports and reviews had not been addressed or properly implemented. There seems to be little point in undertaking regulatory and system reviews that consistently make similar findings, if these findings are never addressed. The hurdles to implementation of key recommendations need to be identified, so that progress can be made in improving the approvals processes for the industry, and improving the environmental outcomes.


Subject Progress towards net zero emissions. Significance The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned on August 9 that land misuse was contributing to CO2 emissions. Research published subsequently by Cambridge University and the University of Southern California calculates that without climate change mitigation, global GDP per capita will be 7.2% lower by 2100. Net zero targets imply major economic transformation and societal change within a short period. Despite more countries adopting targets, the number remains low relative to the global effort needed to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Many are not on track to meet the targets. Impacts Future-dated bans on internal engine combustion sales are likely to be made legally binding and possibly brought forward. Technologies such as carbon capture and storage, renewable hydrogen and renewable heat are likely to attract state support. Electrification of transport and heating will increase power demand; accelerated deployment of renewable energy sources will help.


Author(s):  
I. Alieksieiev ◽  
A. Mazur ◽  
О. Storozhenko

Abstract. The article examines the features of sustainable development processes in Ukraine. In particular, the works of scientists on the issues of sustainable transformations of the economy, the problems of establishing a mechanism for the transition to the use of renewable energy sources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions are analyzed. The basic principles of legislative regulation of the processes of sustainable transformation in the context of Ukraine’s integration into the international model of sustainable development according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are studied. The research objective is to study the mechanism of implementation of sustainable transformations in the economy of Ukraine, identification of the main problems of low-carbon strategy establishment in the context of harmonization of international and state legislation and identification of effective mechanisms for financing sustainable development processes. During the research, methods were used, such as: the dialectical method and methods of analysis and synthesis — to carry out a comparative analysis of legislation that regulates the processes of sustainable development, ways to implement a low-carbon strategy, study trends in carbon emissions in Ukraine; statistical method — to analyse the targets for changing the greenhouse gas emissions of Ukraine in 2020—2030 and the proposed target for 2050; structural and logical analysis — to study effective mechanisms of financing the processes of sustainable development in Ukraine, identify the ways of sustainable development projects funding. In general, the article reveals a number of problems that Ukraine faces as a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. The main tools of the country’s transition to a low-carbon strategy have been identified. The economic mechanisms to ensure the fulfillment of the country’s obligations under the Kyoto Protocol have been studied. Possible ways of financing the processes of sustainable transformation are considered, among which, in particular, we can highlight the scheme of «green» investments. Keywords: sustainable economic development, Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, low carbon economy, mechanism for financing sustainable development. JEL Classification Q01, Q4, Q5 Formulas: 0; fig.: 1; tabl.: 0; bibl.: 36.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martinez-Fernandez ◽  
deLlano-Paz ◽  
Calvo-Silvosa ◽  
Soares

Carbon mitigation is a major aim of the power-generation regulation. Renewable energy sources for electricity are essential to design a future low-carbon mix. In this work, financial Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) is implemented to optimize the power-generation technologies portfolio. We include technological and environmental restrictions in the model. The optimization is carried out in two stages. Firstly, we minimize the cost and risk of the generation portfolio, and afterwards, we minimize its emission factor and risk. By combining these two results, we are able to draw an area which can be considered analogous to the Capital Market Line (CML) used by the Capital Asset Pricing model (CAPM). This area delimits the set of long-term power-generation portfolios that can be selected to achieve a progressive decarbonisation of the mix. This work confirms the relevant role of small hydro, offshore wind, and large hydro as preferential technologies in efficient portfolios. It is necessary to include all available renewable technologies in order to reduce the cost and the risk of the portfolio, benefiting from the diversification effect. Additionally, carbon capture and storage technologies must be available and deployed if fossil fuel technologies remain in the portfolio in a low-carbon approach.


Author(s):  
Sei-Hill Kim ◽  
Myung-Hyun Kang ◽  
Jeong-Heon Chang

Climate change is a significant issue in South Korea, and the news media are particularly important because they can play a central role in communicating information about climate change, a complex phenomenon on which the public in general lacks expert knowledge. The amount of climate change coverage increased in South Korean newspapers until 2009 and started to decline thereafter. The increase seems to have been driven primarily by international news and domestic politics. Until 2007, the increase in news coverage—as well as its short-term peaks—coincided with major international events, such as the releases of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. After 2007, the amount was affected not only by international events but also by domestic politics, such as the Lee administration’s “Low Carbon, Green Growth” policy, which became an important part of the national agenda. In terms of the nature of news coverage, newspapers represented the perspectives of climate change believers for the most part, while it was relatively hard to find skeptics’ arguments. News stories relied heavily on such authoritative international figures as the IPCC for information, which often led to conclusions that climate change is real and that human activities are primarily responsible. There are also political reasons for this point of view. President Lee, and his successor, President Park, maintained strong and ambitious environmental policies. As an important part of the president’s agenda, these policies might have affected the nature of news coverage, setting the tone of news articles in favor of strong environmental regulations. Lack of scientific expertise among news writers seems to affect the nature of news coverage as well. The lack of expert knowledge has often resulted in heavy reliance on press releases, newsworthy events, and scandals, instead of providing in-depth analyses of scientific backgrounds in climate change reporting. Another consequence was a heavy reliance on international news. The largest number of climate change articles was found as part of international news, while such articles rarely appeared in the science sections.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 17-31
Author(s):  
J. Savickis ◽  
N. Zeltins ◽  
L. Jansons

Abstract Although the natural gas and renewable energy sources are two significant elements of the Baltic primary energy mix both today and in foreseeable future, the competitive edge of their usage often prevails over possibilities of mutually beneficial coexistence. Universally both forms of energy are often described as key elements of a transition to a cleaner and more secure energy future (low-carbon economy), but regionally much of the current discourse considers each in isolation or concentrates on the competitive impacts of one on the other. The paper outlines several potential avenues and further research trends of synergies between the natural gas, a proven fast-reacting fossil fuel, and RES as seen from viewpoints of the Baltic energy sector sustainability and security of energy supply.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isak Karabegović

It is well-known that, in the past decades, the burning of fossil fuels was identified as the major cause of climate change. Climate change mitigation is becoming a central concern of global society. Limiting global warming to below 2 °C above the temperature of the pre-industrial period is the key to preserving global ecosystems and providing a secure basis for human activities, as well as reducing excessive environmental change. The ambitions increased at an accelerated pace with a dramatic expansion of net zero-emission targets. Increasing pressure from citizens and society has forced countries to intensify their climate plans, while the private sector has bought a record amount of renewable energy. An energy system based on fossil fuels must be replaced by renewable energy with low carbon emissions with improved energy efficiency. That applies to all consumers of fossil energy: cities, villages, building sectors, industry, transport, agriculture, and forestry. The paper explores and presents the strategy of energy development of renewable energy sources in the world. The application of new technologies that have led to developing renewable energy sources is presented in detail: wind energy, solar energy, small hydropower plants, biomass, and their increase in the total share of energy production, i.e., reduced fossil fuel use in energy production. Investments in new technologies used in renewable energy sources have led to increases in employment worldwide. Analysis of the trend of increased energy production from RES (Renewable Energy Sources) with investment plans, the employment rate for each energy source, and the development of renewable energy sources in the coming period are provided.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 552-568
Author(s):  
Borys Basok

Rising global temperatures have exacerbated the problems of adaptation to climate change in various sectors of the economy, including municipal energy. Therefore, the task is to develop measures and mechanisms, the implementation of which will guarantee cost-effective comfortable and reliable heat and cold supply of buildings and structures in climate change. Experimental studies of heat transfer and monitoring of thermal regimes in enclosing structures and building elements were conducted with the development of innovative engineering systems for energy supply of a passive house of the "zero-energy" type. Experimental developments of innovative energy-efficient greenhouse gas-reducing technologies and equipment for energy supply systems of buildings have been performed and their architectural and construction solutions for adaptation to climate change have been optimized. In order to expand and deepen the theory and practice of improving the energy efficiency of buildings in the near future, the scientific priority and subject of basic and applied research have been identified. Developed adaptive to climate change innovative, energy efficient technologies and equipment of engineering systems of energy supply of buildings with the use of renewable energy sources can be used in the practice of energy supply of housing and communal services.


Author(s):  
Nick Hanley ◽  
Dervla Brennan

ABSTRACTThis paper sets out some of the economic factors underpinning Scotland's move to a low-carbon economy. Economics matters, since it addresses the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the costs of climate change impacts, and the economic factors that motivate individuals' behaviour and the behaviour of businesses. All of these are important in understanding the barriers to meeting targets and to successful adaptation, and in thinking about how these barriers can be lifted. We discuss the relative merits of market mechanisms such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade, the cost of including additional targets, and the issue of counting carbon embedded in imported goods. An efficient way of achieving carbon reductions is to widen the scope of carbon trading to include forestry, transport and agriculture. Energy efficiency in businesses and households and adaptation to climate change are a priority, because the benefits will be felt in the short term and at the local level.


Author(s):  
J Davison ◽  
K Thambimuthu

There is growing concern about climate change resulting from increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Several techniques including efficiency improvements and increased use of renewable energy sources will be needed to limit emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Another technique that can help to reduce emissions substantially is capture and storage of CO2 (CCS). This article will describe the main technologies that can be used to capture CO2 from coal- and gas-fired power plants, including postcombustion capture, precombustion capture, and oxy-combustion. The current status of these technologies, their performance and costs, and possible future developments will be reviewed. The article considers changes in CO2 capture technologies, fuel costs, and plant construction costs that have occurred since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on CCS was written. The article will draw on work carried out by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme and other leading organizations working in this field. The analysis concentrates on coal-based gasification combined cycle power plants with precombustion capture and pulverized coal combustion plant with postcombustion capture.


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