Gas field threatens Paris deal
The Federal Government has been warned that emissions from one fracking scheme in the Northern Territory could threaten its Paris targets.
Industry analysis suggests the Beetaloo Basin - an enormous shale gas resource 400 kilometres south of Darwin - contains enough energy to power Australia for 200 years.
Both the Federal Government and the Northern Territory's Labor Government are eager to develop the basin, despite the enormous carbon emissions they will unlock.
Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor received the warning from his Environment and Energy Department last year that developing the Beetaloo basin could threaten Australia's emissions reduction pledges.
“Emissions from development of onshore shale gas in the Northern Territory may be difficult to offset and could impact on Australia's progress in meeting Paris Agreement commitments,” the department warned, according to documents obtained by the ABC.
“Developments could eventually lead to life cycle emissions in Australia of 5 to 39 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.”
But those numbers may be low, with later figures from Northern Territory officials warning the development could create three times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
“[We are] looking at somewhere between 39 million tonnes to 117 million tonnes a year in carbon offsets,” email correspondence states.
The figure of 117 million tonnes of greenhouse gas would be about 22 per cent of Australia's current annual emissions, or more than more than seven times the emissions of the from the decommissioned Hazelwood coal-fired power station, formerly Australia’s single highest emitter.
In fact, that amount is larger than all offset credits ever issued by the Australian Government.
But Mr Taylor has maintained that an expanded NT gas industry would not undermine the nation’s Paris Agreement commitment to reduce emissions.
“We've laid out to the last tonne how we'll meet our 2030 Paris obligations and of course up in the Top End there's a range of projects that are contributing to that,” he said last year.
“Gas is playing an enormously important role in helping to reduce emissions around the world.
“Gas has significantly lower emissions, gas has about half of the equivalent emissions from coal, but gas also plays a very important role in complementing renewables to provide reliable power.”
Despite climate change posing an immense risk to the pristine environment and renewable resources of the Northern Territory, the regional government is still very much on board.
Northern Territory's Labor Chief Minister Michael Gunner said at a recent mining conference that the Beetaloo could change the fortunes of the Territory.
“The Beetaloo could be globally significant,” he said.
“It will lead to Darwin becoming the manufacturing hub of the North.”
NT Climate Change Minister Eva Lawler says she is working with the Commonwealth to find ways of offsetting the gargantuan new source of pollution.
“We'll work through that in the next three to five years,” she said.
“The Northern Territory can balance the jobs, the economy, the economic benefit up with the environment.”