Coal Seam Gas

Policy background

The unconventional gas industry is rapidly increasing its scope in the Australian energy market.

Production projects to date are largely coal seam gas (CSG) on the east coast, but exploration into shale and tight gas deposits (with large estimated reserves) are underway.

Gas is talked up by supporters of the industry as a clean energy source, or as a “transition fuel”. But for a safe climate, we need to shift to zero emissions quickly. With stationary energy responsible for 51% of total emissions, the single biggest contribution to a safe climate future will come through transitioning to 100% renewables. This means no fossil fuels, including natural and unconventional gas.

Policy

Socialist Alliance supports and campaigns for:

• The closure of all unconventional gas mines, along with a retraining plan for workers in the industry.
• A royal commission into the full impacts of unconventional gas.
• A ban on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and similar stimulation techniques for unconventional gas mining.
• No new gas. Investment in energy must be limited to technologies that can move us to a zero emissions economy.