Future Gas Strategy Submission analysis

<p dir="ltr">In October 2023, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) released the Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper. The Strategy received 292 submissions, including 244 public submissions. Input from the submissions was incorporated into the government’s final Future Gas Strategy released in May 2024. This report examines the Australian Energy Producers (AEP) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) submissions for scientific credibility and accuracy, as well as their alignment (or misalignment) with Australia’s Paris Agreement commitments and international climate targets.</p><p dir="ltr">This report examines the extent to which the AEP and BCA submissions align – or misalign – with Australia’s international climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, including the objective to limit global warming to as close to 1.5 °C as possible. Their claims are assessed against internationally recognised 1.5 °C scenarios and peer-reviewed scientific literature to determine how they compare with credible decarbonisation pathways.</p><p dir="ltr">Several elements of the AEP and BCA submissions do not align with Australia’s commitments under the Paris Agreement to limit warming to as close to 1.5ºC as possible. Moreover, there were commonalities between the misaligned themes from AEP & BCA and the Future Gas Strategy. These include continued investment in new gas supply and infrastructure, a continued or even growing role for natural gas supply and demand in net zero scenarios, reliance on historically underperforming technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), and underestimation of renewable energy’s affordability and reliability.</p>