Chris Uhlmann reported this story on Monday, November 3, 2014 08:04:33
CHRIS UHLMANN: Stephen Galilee is the chief executive of the New South Wales Mineral Council.
Stephen Galilee, if you could give us some context, what are coal exports worth to Australia each year?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Well coal is our second most valuable national export commodity; it’s worth about $50 billion a year. And, in terms of our coal role in New South Wales it’s our state’s most valuable export commodity, powering about 80 per cent of our electricity needs in New South Wales and about a quarter of our state’s exports by values.
So it’s very important commodity for the country and a very important commodity for our state too.
CHRIS UHLMANN: And over the last decade have coal exports been increasing or decreasing?
STEPHEN GALILEE: We’ve seen increases in our export volumes, particularly out of the port of Newcastle, which is the world’s largest coal export port, growing at around 6-8 per cent a year to all our major markets; that includes the economies of Japan, Korea and Taiwan for example and also the emerging economies of China and India as well.
CHRIS UHLMANN: Do you accept that, over time, the world is going to under pressure to use less coal?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Well the world is going to be under pressure to meet the energy demand of an increasing middle class in countries like China and India in particular where there are billions of people that still do not have access to cheap and reliable energy and all energy sources are going to be needed to meet that increasing demand and that includes coal and that includes gas, and that includes nuclear, and that includes renewables and the key to meeting that energy demand that’s growing over time is going to be through technology and innovation and that’s what we’re seeing in our industry and in those other industries as well.
CHRIS UHLMANN: Do you accept that over time, the world is going to demand less coal because the environmental costs are too high?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Well I think what we’re seeing is an ongoing trend in our industry for investment in technology and innovation to ensure that we can continue to keep our impacts as low as possible.
We’ve seen significant improvements in the efficiency of coal fired power stations and we’re talking about you know, 30 to 40 per cent or more improvements in the efficiency of the way those power stations deliver electricity, and we’re also seeing that in relation to the way coal is mined as well.
So, we are driving innovation in our industry to meet our obligations and in the end, we also need to understand that there is an overwhelming desire of many hundreds of, if not billions of people around the world to get access to the cheap and reliable energy that coal can provide.
CHRIS UHLMANN: And an overwhelming concern by many in the world, that coal’s days should be numbered because it’s doing too much damage to the environment?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Well the idea that you’ll be able to withdraw fossil fuels from the energy mix over a relatively short period of time is one that really deserves serious investigation because it’s going to cause significant social and economic dislocation, particularly when you consider that those two fuels alone are providing 60-80 per cent of the energy needs of the globe at the moment.
CHRIS UHLMANN: How do define short term? How do you imagine this will track over time?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Well the International Energy Agency has forecast up to 2035, that’s probably about as far as you’d want to responsibly go in relation to energy forecasting. So we would, you know, we put a lot of stock in what the International Energy Agency says, they are a considered outfit and they put a lot of time into making sure that their forecasts reflect reality.
CHRIS UHLMANN: Stephen Galilee, are you reflecting reality? Do you understand and accept that climate change is real and that fossil fuels have to either clean up their act or stop being burnt?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Well that’s what we’ve been doing now for decades, Chris. We’ve been reducing our impacts, we’ve been reducing our emissions; we’ve been investing in technology.
The Australian coal industry is the only coal industry in Australia that has been voluntarily investigating innovation technology over at least a decade or more to reduce our impact and to reduce our emissions and we’re seeing the benefits of that.
CHRIS UHLMANN: In the long run, do you believe that you might face your social licence with withdrawn by governments and by pressure from people?
STEPHEN GALILEE: Ah no, because I think there’s a pretty strong recognition that people need energy for their own lifestyle and for their own future and, as long as we as an industry can demonstrate that we’re operating responsibly and that we’re meeting our obligations along with all the other industries that need to the same, I think that we will continue to enjoy the support of the community that we do here in New South Wales and more broadly.
CHRIS UHLMANN: Stephen Galilee, Thank you.