Japan ensures Australia’s coal-fired future ahead

Japan has guaranteed the future of new coal-fired power stations and Australian exports at the G7 meeting.

Angus Taylor says ‘brokering international partnerships is a key part of the government’s plan. Picture: John Feder

Japan has guaranteed the future of new coal-fired power stations and Australian exports at the G7 meeting in Cornwall as part of a push to allow nations to chart their own pathways towards achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Japan insisted the final communique of the G7 meeting – initially aimed at stopping investment and construction of coal-fired power plants – had to allow for coal-fired power plants that used technology to lower or capture carbon emissions.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor told The Australian: “Brokering international partnerships is a key part of the government’s plan to develop and deploy low emissions technologies to support the global effort to reduce emissions while strengthening economic growth and job creation.

“Partnerships with Japan, Singapore and Germany are part of the government’s $565.8m commitment to build new international technology partnerships that will drive investment in ­Australian-based projects and create up to 2500 jobs.”

Anthony Albanese and Labor, however, say Scott Morrison was “isolated” at the Cornwall meeting and the leaders of the US, ­Germany, the UK, Italy and Japan have said a new coal-fired power station would not be built in ­Australia.

Yet the final communique of the G7 meeting said there should be only a transition away from building and financing “unabated coal power”, which Japan insisted on as a G7 member heavily reliant on imported coal and an exporter of coal-fired power technology to developing nations.

The world leaders at the meeting agreed to the Japanese request to continue to build and finance coal and gas-fired power stations that adopted carbon reduction technology as part of a movement towards allowing independence on how to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The Prime Minister told The Australian from London that he had been “greatly encouraged by the support Australia has received, especially from the UK and the US”.

Resources Minister Keith Pitt said the G7 decision ensured there would be “reliable and affordable electricity provided by coal and gas and they will continue to do so for decades to come”.

Mr Pitt said on Tuesday the G7 decision to allow continuing “abatable” coal-fired power would support “aspirational dev­eloping nations to do the same so they can provide the same ser­vices in health, education and transport that we enjoy”.

“Australia’s abundant coal and gas reserves, supported by increasing technology, have an important ongoing role to play in sustaining wealthy nations and helping lift developing countries out of poverty,” he said. “The Labor Party can’t help itself because it has an ideological opposition to the coal industry.”

Participants at the G7 conference said the Japanese success with the final communique was a sign of a less “prescriptive attitude” from the leadership and a wider acceptance of different nat­ional paths to reduce carbon emissions.

Mr Taylor said the deals with Japan, Germany and Singapore for hydrogen development, which can be used to abate carbon emissions from gas-fired power stations, would provide exports and jobs for Australia while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.