Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for McMillan and recognise his very keen interest in and commitment to the coal industry and the role of coal in the generation of electricity in his own electorate. World demand for electricity is projected to double by 2030. That growth will be driven in large measure by countries like China and India as they continue their rapid economic growth and as their citizens seek to improve their living standards. China and India are 78 per cent and 69 per cent respectively dependent on coal for electricity generation. Each of them has substantially greater coal reserves than Australia. Neither of them is blessed with significant alternative energy resources and the consequence is that, for economic and energy security reasons, both countries will continue to be heavy users of coal in the years ahead.

Australia is a major exporter of coal to the world. In addressing climate change, we must build on our natural advantages and respond in ways that do not threaten the economic prosperity or the job security of Australians. The Labor Party seems to be prepared to ignore these fundamental realities, but we are not. One of the greatest contributions Australia can make to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions is to help develop the technologies the world will need to clean up coal. China and India will continue to use coal for the bulk of their energy needs. It is only by cleaning up that coal fired generation capacity that they will be able to have economic growth, which they are entitled to, and energy growth, which they need, and at the same time reduce the growth in greenhouse gas emissions. China is the fastest-growing coal consumer in the world. It does not use coal as efficiently as it might. Leaving aside near zero emission clean coal technologies like sequestration, China has a long way to go.

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