State’s clean-coal gamble – theage.com.au

State’s clean-coal gamble

ROYCE MILLAR AND ADAM MORTON

November 4, 2009

VICTORIA will rely on fossil fuel for energy for decades, with leaked documents revealing the Brumby Government is set to take a multibillion-dollar gamble on ”clean coal”.

A high-level leak to The Age indicates the Government will embark on an education campaign around carbon capture and storage aimed at a public that it say does ”not understand the unique challenges facing the state” under emission trading.

While the state will continue to depend on coal-fired power, confidential cabinet documents acknowledge the clean coal strategy may not work.

”A key question for Commonwealth and state governments is whether to consider long-term contingency options to deal with the risk that clean coal proves to be more costly and limited an option than currently believed,” one document says…

Part of the rationale of the Future Energy statement would be to ensure clean coal technologies were accepted so they had ”a social licence to operate”.

As revealed by The Age last month, the statement will also propose that brown coal exports be allowed despite community concerns about increasing emissions in countries without greenhouse targets.

via State’s clean-coal gamble – theage.com.au

At one stage a political campaign that admits that it deifies reality and that involves funnelling billions of dollars into certain industries – and where those industries reciprocate with political donations – ceases to be valid politically and could be considered a form of organised criminal activity or corruption.

Victoria – Da Gangster State