GAS EMISSIONS —
METHANE
1289. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
answer to question without notice 1209 and his acknowledgement that methane's
global warming potential is 28 to 36 times that of carbon dioxide over the next
100 years.
Given that the Premier has conceded
methane, the predominant gas of liquefied natural gas, has a significantly
higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide, will the Premier please
explain to the house why this government continues to purport that LNG will
mitigate human-induced global climate change?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of his question.
The
question the member is referring to asked for a comparison between the global
warming potential of burning coal and burning liquefied natural gas. As
outlined in previous answers, the burning of LNG produces 50 to 60 per cent
less carbon dioxide than the burning of coal. Therefore, by definition, the
burning of LNG in the place of coal will mitigate climate change.