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Federal technology plan puts fossil fuel companies ahead of farmers: FCA

Beef Central, 22/09/2020

THE Federal Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap puts the interests of big fossil fuel companies ahead of Australian farmers, Farmers for Climate Action CEO Wendy Cohen says.

Ms Cohen said the government must set a target for Australia reaching net zero emissions before 2050, then take advice from experts on how to achieve that goal.

“The Federal Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap puts Australian taxpayers’ money behind expensive and unproven carbon capture and storage technologies, which will only serve to benefit big fossil fuel companies,” she said.

“Climate change is costing Australian farmers money now. The Department of Agriculture’s own research shows that over the past two decades, climate change has cut the average annual profits of large farms by 22 per cent.

“The Federal Government needs to get real about climate change and commit to a net-zero emissions target of no later than 2050, then use the best available evidence to back projects that will actually serve to reach that goal.

“We cannot afford new gas or carbon capture and storage projects when renewable energy, backed up by battery storage, is already the cleanest and cheapest way to power Australian homes and businesses.

“Given the chance, smart, clean energy systems are also set to be a winner for many farming communities, as solar and wind energy are integrated into food and fibre production.

“The Federal Government’s technology roadmap puts the interests of big fossil fuel companies ahead of that of Australian farmers.”

Farmers for Climate Action is a growing, grassroots movement that is supported by about 5000 farmers, along with thousands of other Australians living in regional and rural communities.

Farmers for Climate Action works to ensure that farmers, who are already feeling the effects of temperature rises and more dangerous extreme weather, are part of the solution to climate change.

According to the roadmap, the government is betting on soil carbon projects becoming a cheap and easy way to offset rising gas and coal emissions.

While fundamental to resilient, sustainable farming, Ms Cohen cautioned that rebuilding carbon in Australians soils was often easier said than done.

It was no replacement for renewable energy, and risks being undone unless emissions are reined in.

“Practices that regenerate carbon in the landscape can be a real game-changer for farmers,” she said. “But soil carbon is not a substitute for the switch to clean energy.

“The more we allow the world to warm, the bigger the risk that all farmers’ good efforts will be undermined.”

Source: Farmers for Climate Action

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Comments

  1. Donald Hawes, 01/10/2020

    Interesting how some dyed-in-the-wool people cannot adjust their minds to ongoing scientific evidence. And that’s evidence from scientists working in their specified field, not what we sometimes have from unrelated scientists, similar to a heart surgeon telling a neurologist his job. This has nothing to do with being from the Left, the Right, drinking coffee outdoors or having a cup of tea in the kitchen, living in the city or living in the country; The state of climate affects everyone. Believing any politician from any party who is more interested in their own or their mates’ interests, or is guided by generous donors, is not a reliable source of truth. There are some genuine politicians out there; they speak sensibly and think before they open their mouths. A few politicians have unfortunately glued themselves to financially attractive interest groups, especially those espousing fossil fuels. Remember the push to build a new coal-fired power station a little while back? They’d have to get the machinery from a museum, because GE said that they are not making it any more. Australia will soon be the third world followers, with Europe and China overtaking us, unless we modernise and wake up to reality, instead of clinging to pointless ideologies from the past. The banks, insurance companies and investors are canny when it comes to finance. They are dropping fossil fuels, because there is no future in it, so no profit. Trying to bury our carbon and avoiding the obvious need for alternative energy sources are just ways of costing the community and trying to hide from the inevitable.

  2. Mark Williams, 28/09/2020

    And continues to thwart efforts to reign in carbon output !
    If they had any intention of acting they would ensure carbon sequestration is feasable and could counter further emissions .
    There is no recognition that the current momentum of warming will drive temperatures to 3 degrees by 2050 and thats if we start to reduce emissions now ! Farming as we know it will be history and these politicians will be sitting with there air conditioners wondering why food prices have trebled !

  3. Malthus Anderson, 28/09/2020

    Increasing soil carbon is by far the best CCS method and can reclaim hundreds of thousands of hectares while generating billions in revenue and creating thousands of jobs over the next decade at least. Federal investment in regenerative agriculture is infinitely wiser than wasting money trying to revive last century’s fossil-fuel economy.

  4. Barry Henderson, 22/09/2020

    Gov’t incentive schemes are the reason solar and wind are now viable technologies. Backing carbon capture and energy storage are a good strategies to now pursue for a low carbon environment.
    FarCA do not highlight Soil Carbon and Tree Planting, one of the five major investment strategies, should provide major opportunities for Australia’s ag sector.

  5. Jim Cross, 22/09/2020

    farmers for climate change to my mind sit left of the greens

  6. Tom G H Stockwell, 22/09/2020

    Farmers for Climate Action (FarCA) don’t speak for me.

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