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Greening the grid – does it generate jobs or gut the economy – more myth busting about renewable energy supply in Australia
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Dr Mark Diesendorf from the UNSW Institute for Environmental Studies explodes this all too pervasive myth about the effects of moving to renewable sources of energy on Australia’s economy.
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| Rather than the widely stated claims by various politicians that the cost to jobs would be severe, Mark explains how renewable energy industries actually create many more jobs than those associated with coal fired electricity production and mining. Even the gradual phasing out over several decades of coal mining for our local electricity industry would have limited effects on employment since 80 percent of coal is exported and not used in Australia. Mark (photo left) calculates that, if we phased out, over several decades, all our coal fired power and the associated coal mining that supplies these plants, we would phase out about 4500 jobs. At the same time, far more new jobs would be created in renewable energy and energy efficiency. This is because these smaller scale technologies can produce most components for their systems within Australia.
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| This is not the case with coal power where three quarters of the dollars spent on coal power and the associate coal mining are spent overseas to purchase and import huge turbogenerators and other massive equipment. In May, Mark’s new book ‘Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy’ will be released. He argues that in spite of being a coal and oil dependent country, Australia could achieve an ecologically sustainable energy system – if we have the political will. Important contributons by the book include proposals for policies and strategies for implementing the more advanced and promising cleaner energy technologies across government, business and community organisations.
For more information visit Mark’s website www.sustainabilitycentre.com.au
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