AGL Energy is Australia’s biggest carbon polluter but its marketing boasts so-called ‘green credentials’
THE greenhouse emissions of energy company AGL have increased dramatically since green-friendly US boss Andy Vesey took over. As AGL spends big money boasting about its green credentials it has become Australia’s biggest carbon polluter.
NSW
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AGL’s greenhouse emissions have blown out by more than 5 million tonnes since American import Andy Vesey took over as boss, launching an advertising blitz promoting the company’s green credentials.
The energy giant is now the single biggest carbon polluter in the entire country, with more than double the emissions of the next highest emitter, Energy Australia.
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Yet this has not stopped Mr Vesey spending an estimated $23 million a year on an advertising campaign to rebrand AGL as a clean, green energy company.
Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said there was a big difference between the green-image it presents to the public and the actual size of its carbon emissions.
“Given AGL is by far Australia’s largest emitter the gap between perception and reality is very large,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“The reality of today’s energy market is that fossil fuels are critical to the supply of reliable and affordable power.
“If companies like AGL are going to be truly transparent in promoting their green credentials, they should also tell consumers about the overall nature of their energy generating portfolio and the quantum of their emissions.”
When Mr Vesey was hired to run AGL in February 2015, its emissions were 38.3 million tonnes for the 2014-15 financial year. But by the 2016-17 financial year, its greenhouse emissions had increased by 13 per cent to 43.4 million tonnes.
According to the Clean Energy Regulator, AGL was the biggest emitter in Australia, with Energy Australia coming it second with 21.7 million tonnes — half the emissions of its rival. AGL accounted for around 8 per cent of Australia’s total emissions.
Two months after Mr Vesey took over as managing director and chief executive, he launched a new greenhouse gas policy that pledged to close all existing coal-fired power stations in its portfolio by 2050.
AGL said it would not extend the life of any of its existing coal-fired power and would not build, finance or acquire new conventional coal-fired power stations in Australia.
Asked why its emissions were increasing, an AGL spokesman said its emissions have increased following the “sudden closure” of other coal plants, which required theirs to run at a higher capacity.
“Due to the age of some of our generation plants this can’t continue into the long term,” he said.
“The closure of Liddell in 2022 will reduce our emissions as it’s replaced by low emissions technologies, as described in our NSW generation plan.”
But the spokesman would not comment on how much lower its emissions would be when Liddell closed.
In April last year, AGL announced its major green rebranding campaign in a statement to the stock market.
“Our brand campaign includes a TV ad which talks about … our ongoing commitment to investing in renewable energy,” the statement read.