COMMENT
Chris Baker's recent opinion piece on coal and climate change (NZ Herald, June 12) seems to miss the point that we are facing a potentially catastrophic climate crisis that urgently needs to be addressed. He may be acting as a spokesperson for the minerals sector, but it is really important that this group also understands what is happening, both so they can make appropriate decisions in their own businesses and also play a part in protecting our planet.
The special report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), released last October, stresses the critical need to limit the future destruction from climate change by holding global warming to a maximum of 1.5C. To achieve this, by 2030 total carbon emissions have to be reduced globally by 45 per cent below 2010 levels and coal-based emissions by around 67 per cent. Realistically, to meet these targets, countries like New Zealand, with the necessary skills and resources, need to do considerably better, perhaps phasing out most coal use by 2025.
Baker particularly zeroes in on the need for coal to maintain energy security, with the Huntly power station recently using around 300,000 tonnes a year, and concludes that this scenario will not change for years to come. The electricity producers like having this power station active because it often pushes power prices up and increases their profits. Meanwhile, they are sitting on many consented but un-developed wind farms, including one planned for the hills right behind Huntly, that alone would be able to supply up to half the power that Huntly can.
If we followed along the lines of the German model and gave electricity generated from renewable resources priority access to the electricity grid, regardless of price, Huntly would very quickly move to stand-by status. This would also require other changes to the way the electricity market operates so as to reduce the over-charging for electricity, which is currently a standard outcome.