submitted by an Australian reader
Before reading this, you may be interested to browse 10 Facts on Climate Change
O Coal Divine! What hast thou Done? Are you out of your jaundiced mind?
“Australian coal and iron ore company Resourcehouse said over the weekend it had signed a record $60 billion coal supply deal with Chinese power stations, a move analysts said underscored Chinese companies’ growing demand for energy to fuel the country’s economic development.” China Daily reported.
In what’s Resourcehouse’s and Australia’s biggest export contract, the Australian company from hell will supply 600 million tons of coal over 20 years to China Power International Development Ltd, owned by China Power Investment Corp (CPI), Clive Palmer, its chairman was quoted as saying.
Previously Fire-Earth exposed The Australian Clean Energy Ruse
Great! But what’s Australia doing with its large reserves of coal? And how does that make it any cleaner on a global level if someone else burned the Australian coal instead?
Australia has 5% of global reserves of black coal (~ 40 Gigatons, Gt) and 24% of global reserves of brown coal (~37.5 Gt). With a total annual production of about 390 Mt, Australia is the world’s largest exporter with about 30% of world total coal export trade (250Mt) and nearly 5% of world consumption.
Coal also comprises Australia’s largest single export (~ $A23 billion), an industry with up to 150,000 employees, and is used to generate about 85% of Australia’s electricity.
With a population of about 21.5 million (0.3% of world population, ranking 51st globally), Australia accounts for 2.5% of the world’s energy production (world’s eighth largest producer), with coal being its main source of energy production (Coal 54%, Uranium 28%, Natural gas 10%, Oil 6% and Renewables less than 2%) . [Source: Australian Coal Association and others.]
Why the ruse?
The proposed solar-power plant network would serve to free more of the Australian coal, making it available for export. This makes perfect economic sense, especially as the price coal is expected to increase.
As for the GHG emissions from burning Australian coal, who gives a damn! No, really, since when did the Australians gave a Sydney shrimp about rest of the world, or health of the planet?
The coal will be produced from a major new project in Australia’s Queensland, Palmer was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Chinese power companies are gobbling up coal from other countries to fuel growth, said Han Xiaoping, chief information officer of energy portal China5e.com, reported China daily
“With such a long-term contract, Chinese companies can have access to sustainable supply that is beneficial to their development,” Han said.
“China’s power consumption is expected to rise 7 percent this year, in line with the anticipated economic growth rate of 8 percent, according to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC). Such growth will in turn boost the country’s demand for coal, Han said.”
China’s coal imports currently come from developing Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia and Vietnam. “New coal imports from Australia will also diversify the country’s coal supplies, which will further ensure the country’s energy security, he said.”
China will worry about the impacts of coal consumption later.
The $70 billion coal deal is said to make Clive Palmer, chairman of Resourcehouse, the Australian mining company, the country’s richest person.
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