How Australia is committing 'suicide' under Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen - and you're paying for their huge mistake: 'I fear literally for the future of the country'

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Australia's net zero by 2050 target has been likened to 'energy suicide' as the United Nations calls on Anthony Albanese to 'go big' on reducing carbon emissions.
MacroBusiness chief economist Leith van Onselen made the call as the UN's climate change executive secretary, Simon Stiell, visited Sydney and Canberra, urging Australia to implement a more ambitious 2035 climate target.
'Unfortunately, Australia is committing the worst case of energy suicide, the most unnecessary self-sabotage that I've ever seen in my life,' Mr van Onselen said.
'Energy now is the number one existential threat, I think, to Australia.
'I fear literally for the future of the country if we keep going down this road.'
Mr van Onselen questioned Labor's goal of renewable energy making up 82 per cent of Australia's energy mix by 2030, as part of a plan to slash emissions by 43 per cent.
'That's impossible,' he said. 'To get to 82 per cent renewable energy, we have to shut down our baseload coal generators that have provided stable, reliable, and very cheap energy for generations.
'Growing up, the electricity bill was nothing. It was never an issue. Now it costs an absolute arm and a leg and is getting worse. You have to ask yourself, why are we doing this when we export seven times more coal than we burn ourselves, and four times more gas than we use ourselves?'
He made the call as the UN's climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell visited Sydney and Canberra, calling on Australia to implement a more ambitious 2035 climate target.
'So don't settle for what's easy. Bog standard is beneath you. Go for what's smart by going big,' he said.
'Go for what will build lasting wealth and national security. Go for what will change the game and stand the test of time.'
The Coalition, which signed Australia up to a net zero by 2050 target in 2021, faces a potential split on the issue, with former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce on Monday moving a parliamentary motion to repeal that policy.
Australia only a small emitter
Mr van Onselen said data comparing Australia's carbon emissions with other countries shows Australia is negligible, making up only about one per cent of global emissions.
Australia's share has fallen from 1.5 per cent in 2000 to 1.1 per cent today, while China now accounts for 31.5 per cent and India's emissions continue to surge.
'China and India have about 1,400 coal-fired generators. Australia has 18. They are expanding their coal plants every year, while we're shutting ours down. China burns 30 per cent more coal than the rest of the world combined,' he said.
'Australia should be an energy superpower with the lowest energy prices in the world, but instead, we've given ourselves the highest. We've made everything more expensive, from housing construction to manufacturing, because energy is the bedrock of the economy.'
Mr van Onselen said Australia needed to seriously consider opening up more coal power plants and considering nuclear.
Nuclear ban
Australia also has a ban on nuclear power despite being home to a third of the world's uranium reserves, as other nations like the UK and Canada look at building new reactors.
'We've also banned even looking at nuclear despite holding about 30 per cent of the world's uranium reserves,' he said.
'We could be totally energy self-sufficient, but we've banned going down that road while the UK, Canada, and the rest of the world are embracing it.
'I argue, why not just burn the coal that we've got - which we sell seven times more than we use domestically?
'While you're doing that, build some nuclear generators, which are the most environmentally friendly option out of the lot.
'They're cheap to run over the long term and they last a hell of a long time. They have the smallest environmental footprint and they are zero emission.'
Former Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was defeated at the May election with a plan to build seven nuclear reactors, as part of a net zero by 2050 plan.
The Coalition had also proposed repealing a 1998 ban on the building of nuclear power plants, which at the time was a political trade-off John Howard's Coalition government had secured with the Greens in the Senate to build a new nuclear medicines reactor the Lucas Heights in Sydney.
Mr van Onselen warned Australia risks mass business failures if Australia continued down the net-zero route.
'If we keep going down this road and keep driving up the cost of energy, every single link in the supply chain - no matter what business you're in - is going to become more expensive, because energy is the bedrock of the economy,' he said.
'If you want a modern economy and want to progress, you've got to use more energy. I'm sorry, that's the way it is.
'China is getting more powerful and richer by using more energy. It's burning more coal, going down the nuclear road, and building out renewables as well. But regardless, it's using more of all types of energy. Every year, its energy use just rockets. Same with India. They recognize that the key to economic progress is using more energy.
'And for us to have some of the biggest reserves of hydrocarbons in the world and not use them ourselves - but be happy to sell them to others - is just moronic. We should be using this stuff ourselves first, and then sell the rest.'
He also warned of the growing risks from Australia's reliance on renewables.
'If you rely on wind and solar backed up by batteries and pumped hydro, the facts are clear: energy costs do not go down. They go up. The higher the share of renewables, the higher the cost of energy. This is largely because of transmission costs. You need to build an enormous web of transmission lines and vastly more infrastructure than the nameplate capacity suggests.
'Wind turbines and batteries also need to be replaced roughly every 20 years, which means you're constantly turning over infrastructure. This isn't environmentally friendly, nor is it cheap. The land use and resource consumption are massive, and the cost burden is astronomical.
'If we keep doubling down on this renewables-only approach, we'll keep driving up energy costs, further de-industrializing the country and shrinking our manufacturing base. Eventually, the only industries left will be non-tradable ones (like bricks, which are too heavy and expensive to import) or industries kept alive by government subsidies. That's not sustainable for a strong economy.'
Australia has also become a net importer of liquefied natural gas, despite its abundant reserves, as the net zero by 2050 target discourages gas exploration for domestic use.
'We export four times more gas than we use ourselves,' Mr van Onselen said.
He warned that the cost of energy in Australia is now so high that 'it's effectively impossible for businesses to grow and develop here'.
'We seem to be shunting ourselves into a bit of a cul-de-sac.
'We've already shut down a large number of coal generators, yet we're still heavily reliant on the ones we have left. They're old, under pressure, and being run at full capacity - effectively redlined - to cover the shortfalls from intermittent renewables. At some point, one of these generators will fail, causing a catastrophic blackout.'
Coal demonised
Mr van Onselen slammed Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen for demonising coal.
'When [blackout] happens, politicians like Chris Bowen and the 'net zero heroes' will rush to blame coal as unreliable, rather than acknowledging the real problem: the wind wasn't blowing, the sun wasn't shining, and the renewables failed to deliver when needed,' he said.
'They'll use the crisis as an excuse to shut down even more coal generation and force through more renewables, even though renewables were the root cause of the failure.'
Jobs at risk
The conservative Institute of Public Affairs has released new research showing 631,800 jobs are at risk as a result of net zero, mainly in Liberal and National electorates.
IPA research fellow Cian Hussey noted net zero has had bipartisan support since October 2021 when former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison committed Australia to eliminating carbon emissions from energy use in less than three decades' time.
'It should not be forgotten that it was the Coalition under Scott Morrison, without debate, that signed Australia up to net zero, yet it has been electoral poison for them,' he said.
'By retaining its commitment to net zero, the Coalition is unable to highlight the significant costs the policy is imposing on Australians and the significant costs it will impose into the future. In effect, it is running cover for Labor on a policy it covets.'
Labor under Anthony Albanese has taken this policy even further, pushing up average power prices to level beyond $400 a quarter, crippling small business and hurting the poor despite Australia having an abundance of coal, natural gas and uranium.
Joyce and another former Nationals leader Michael McCormack are joining political forces to repeal net zero, potentially undermining the authority of new Liberal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.