Australia’s Coal Conundrum: Economy, Climate at Odds
Coal has long been a lifeblood for Australia. The country is the world’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal used to make steel, and it’s the second-largest exporter of coal for use in power generation, supplying much of Asia. Government data shows the coal industry directly and indirectly supports more than 150,000 jobs, and in recent years has contributed more than $ 60 billion in economic impact annually. Coal-fired generation accounts for as much as 60% of the country’s electricity, even as renewable energy’s share of electricity output continues to grow (topping 30% last year), with renewables far outpacing both gas-fired generation and hydropower.
The coal industry faces headwinds, though, as Australia joins much of the rest of the world in developing decarbonization strategies to hit climate targets—in Australia’s case, a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. The public debate about climate change has grown louder after major wildfires in Australia in 2019 and 2020. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has been criticized for moving too slowly to close coal-fired power plants and build more solar and wind farms; current leadership has said they want to be cautious with that transition in order to mitigate an energy crisis in the country that has led to blackouts in recent years.…