Former Australian Coal Executive Calls For Clean Energy Amid 'Existential Threat' Of Climate Change

[JudyM]

This was a very frank discussion on NPR’s Here and Now, worth a listen.

Dunlop is no stranger to the fossil fuel industry — he was once an international oil, gas and coal executive and former chair of the Australian Coal Association. He says he left his position in the late ‘80s after recognizing the science behind climate change and since then, has been an advocate for clean energy.

“As time’s gone by over the years, the science has improved dramatically and the evidence has gotten clearer and clearer, and there comes a point when you have to do something about it,” he says.

While coal is a major economic source for the country, there are different ways to initiate change, he says. For example, Australia is “blessed with a range of potential renewable options” that can be tapped into, such as their naturally high levels of sunlight and high wind conditions.

There will be a cost in making the switch to a low-carbon economy, but in the long run, it’s worth it, he says.

“It's not just going to happen easily. It is going to have an impact on economies all around the world,” he says. “But the costs of doing nothing are far greater, as we're now starting to see in Australia, because the impact on the economy of what is now happening in the last three or four or five weeks is going to be enormous.”

Audio and script at the link:
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/01/08/australia-fires-coal-climate-change

[moondust]

1. All that wind

blowing flames around and spreading the fires could presumably be spinning windmills.