Mythbusting the cost of the energy transition

The best time for Australia to begin transitioning to less carbon-intensive forms of energy production was in the 1970s, when scientists and politicians first began raising the alarm about the impacts of emissions on the climate and human health. The second best time is now, writes Janina Waldmann.

Janina Waldmann

Transitioning to renewable energy and retiring coal and gas production is an ethical imperative for Australia. To meet our Paris Agreement commitments, we must act fast to reduce emissions. Burning fossil fuels, which is what makes up the majority of Australia’s energy production currently, creates enormous amounts of greenhouse gases and is not a viable source in the long term. Plenty of myths continue to do the rounds regarding the energy transition. Those who haven’t debated their merits in the pub have heard politicians spout them on the nightly news. “It’ll cost jobs!”, “solar takes up too much space!”, “nuclear is the answer!”, “they’re dark, satanic mills of the modern era.” The reality is, these myths are just that—myths, and it’s time to shed some light on them. Powering Australia…

You're reading a preview of

Renew (Digital) - 1 Issue, 170 / Jan-Mar 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.