Where has all the good news gone?
Lisa France, Environment & Energy Consultant, France Group
A
ll we seem to hear about in mainstream media lately is negative stories about mining companies and anti-mining protests. Why aren’t we hearing anything about the inroads being made in emissions reduction through new technology? Or stories about how the mining sector has embraced renewables and microgrids to drive their costs and carbon footprint down? Or maybe more of the many stories about how the mining sector is supporting the needs of our regional towns through skills training and apprenticeships, health services, educational support, mental health programs or funding for community groups? Instead of acknowledging the good work being done by resource companies in reducing their carbon footprint and encouraging them to keep investing in R&D, new technologies and renewables, the anti-mining lobby are consistently looking to lynch these companies. To me, this seems like the wrong approach if we hope to get the resource sector to reduce their carbon footprint. Wouldn’t we achieve more if we put down the pitch forks and start working together on solutions to address climate change? As industry advocates know, there IS good news out there about energy, environmental performance and emissions reduction. But there are so many naysayers on both sides of the political and policy arguments, we often lose sight of
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BBMC Yearbook 2020
practical progress being made by companies and individuals. The sentiment in the community is polarising when it comes to energy. You either support fossil fuels or you support renewables. And then there’s those of us in the middle that see the merit in both. And why shouldn’t we? Regardless of which side of the climate change debate you sit on, we can all appreciate that 7 billion people on the planet are definitely having a detrimental impact on the environment. There is no question that emissions need to be reduced – but that doesn’t mean shutting down everything reliant on fossil fuels overnight. The good news: we are heading in the right direction when it comes to addressing climate change. We now see resource companies using solar,
wind, hydro, biodiesel, geothermal, hydrogen and in some cases microgrids with a varied energy mix. Given that the mining sector accounts for approximately 10% of Australia’s total energy use, it’s not surprising to see mining companies investing heavily in alternatives to the traditional diesel, natural gas and grid electricity sources. The next big milestone in integrating renewables into mining operations is achieving 100% green power - no diesel, no fossil fuel. Larger mining companies are already designing new mines to operate with wind, solar and electrical vehicles; using renewable excess power to make green hydrogen and using stored hydrogen to meet the mines’ heating requirements and fleet fuel.
