Australia\u2019s biggest thermal coal and LNG customer, Japan, has announced new 2030 targets for their electricity sector, slashing the amount of coal and gas they intend to use, with a 41% cut in thermal coal and 46% cut in gas over the next 10 years.
\nGiven Australia\u2019s high reliance on Japan, these new targets could see the Australian thermal coal industry slashed by almost 20% by 2030, putting the lie to Liberal and Labor\u2019s claims that coal will continue to be mined and exported for decades to come.
\nThe almost halving of gas for electricity by Japan underscores the economic and environmental madness of spending hundreds of millions of public dollars to open up the massive new Beetaloo gas fields, as Labor and Liberal are proposing.
\nBased on data from the Department of Industry\u2019s Resources and Energy quarterly June 2021 publication:<\/p>\n
Japan gets 67% of its thermal coal and 39% of its LNG from Australia.
\nQuotes attributable to Greens Leader, Adam Bandt:<\/strong>
\n\u201cWhen Liberal and Labor say that coal will be mined and exported for decades, they\u2019re lying to voters.
\n\u201cThis year, about 40% of Australia\u2019s gas and thermal coal exports have gone to Japan.
\nThis one decision from Japan alone could end close to 20% of Australia\u2019s thermal coal exports within a decade, and with China and Korea also committing to net-zero emissions, the industry could soon collapse.
\n\u201cThese industries could be over by 2030 as our biggest customers accept the climate science, but Liberal and Labor are giving communities false hope about coal and gas continuing for decades.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s time to face facts and tell workers in Queensland and New South Wales the truth. Coal and gas are now on borrowed time and we need to support workers and communities to transition.\u201d
\n\u201cThe federal government must now massively ramp up investment in manufacturing and green energy in Queensland and NSW to guarantee secure jobs after 2030.
\n\u201cLiberal and Labor must immediately halt their plans to use public money to open up the massive new Betaloo gas fields in the Northern Territory. Opening up new gas fields isn\u2019t just a climate crime, it\u2019s an economic disaster.
\n\u201cThis is further evidence that 2030 is the main game for the rest of the world. The Liberals\u2019 2030 target is completely out of step with the science, and Labor doesn\u2019t have one at all. That kind of denial is putting coal and gas workers at risk.
\nAustralian fossil fuel exports<\/strong><\/p>\n