According to Barnaby Joyce, increasing coal power in Australia to address the energy problem will have no impact on global warming while China, India, and other countries build hundreds of new power plants and ignore emissions targets.
As the east coast suffers through a bitter winter and worldwide gas prices skyrocket, the new Labor administration is pressing coal power facilities to boost output as soon as feasible.
The Greens contend that this is the incorrect strategy, and instead advocate for a big and quick investment in renewable energy to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035.
However, Mr Joyce, a former deputy prime minister, claims that Australia will have no impact on world temperatures as long as China and India pursue coal power.
‘Coal production in China has reached new highs in the last two quarters. China would cover for us in approximately a month if Australia vanished from the face of the world,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
China accounts for around 29% of world CO2 emissions, whereas Australia contributes only 1%.
Last year, China was responsible for 56% of new coal power capacity globally, followed by India (14%), South Korea (7%), and Indonesia (6%).
Since 2012, Australia has not built any new coal-fired power plants.
According to the Global Energy Monitor, China’s increased capacity nearly offsets all global coal plant retirements.
According to a research released last year by the think tank Carbon Tracker, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam each aim to build 600 additional plants.
China wants to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, but has indicated that it would backtrack on its goal to peak emissions in 2030 after experiencing power disruptions that resulted in blackouts in major cities last year.
In October, Premier Li Keqiang stated that energy security takes precedence above climate goals.
In a statement, he added, “Energy security should be the cornerstone on which a modern energy system is formed, and the ability for energy self-supply should be expanded.” He also promised to build additional coal plants and dig for more oil and gas.