06/09/2005 - Future generations
of Australians will pay the price for today’s
short-sighted decision by the Government of
Australia's Victoria province to extend the
life of Australia’s most polluting power station,
WWF, the global conservation organisation,
says.
Analysis by WWF released in July found Victoria’s
out-dated Hazelwood power plant to be the
most polluting station of its scale not only
in Australia but in the industrialised world.
“Future governments and future generations
of Victorians will regret today’s short-sighted
decision,” said Anna Reynolds, Climate Change
Manager.
“Climate change is the biggest threat to
our way of life and a smart and progressive
State like Victoria should be trying to fix
the problem not adding to it.”
Hazelwood produces more carbon per unit electricity
than the dirtiest plants in the United States,
Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Today’s decision by the Victorian Government
to provide Hazelwood with new coal and extend
the life of the plant to 2031 will add more
than 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
to the atmosphere.
“With this decision, the Victorian Government
is adding fuel to the fire of global warming,”
Ms Reynolds said.
“Only when government’s start the transition
away from polluting power stations will we
have a chance to minimise the damage and chaos
of climate change.”
WWF says the decision to extend Hazelwood
shows that the Victorian Government has not
sufficiently understood the need to urgently
start the transition to clean energy.
“We recognise the need for government’s to
make practical decisions but in a warming
world those decisions must also at least attempt
to start reducing emissions - this decision
does not do that,” Ms Reynolds said.
WWF released a report in 2004 documenting
the clean energy resources available in Victoria.
The study, entitled Towards Victoria’s Clean
Energy Future (PDF 435.65 KB), showed how
Victoria could access by 2010 the same amount
of power as provided by Hazelwood from using
a combination of energy conservation, renewable
energy and gas-fired power stations.
WWF said today’s decision by the Victorian
Government would be a costly one - both in
terms of the carbon liability now hanging
over the State, as well as the costs that
will inevitably come from climate change.
