HYDRAULIC FRACTURING —
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
1294. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the Minister for Environment:
Given that gas, oil and coal need to
be phased out as a result of the Paris Agreement, will the minister explain why
allowing for fracked gas, which is 10 per cent worse than natural gas, is an
acceptable environmental option in terms of CO2
emissions?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
Even though the Independent
Scientific Panel Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation in Western Australia
concluded that the amount of additional
greenhouse gas emissions resulting from hydraulic fracturing is small, the government
understands that greenhouse gas emissions are an increasingly important issue
for Western Australians.
As I have previously outlined in
this place, in line with the findings and recommendations of the independent
scientific inquiry, the McGowan government considers the avoidance, monitoring,
regulation and offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions as integral to allowing
this industry. In addition, the royalties from any unconventional gas projects
will be used to support new renewable energy projects via the establishment of
a clean energy future fund. An implementation group has been tasked to
determine the means by which this can be achieved in a plan to be delivered in
March 2019.