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FAQs
Struggling to explain how we can make the transition to renewable energy? Wondering how you can reduce your personal impact on the climate or want to know how to handle a climate sceptic? Greenpeace energy campaigner, Julien Vincent, answers many common questions on renewable energy.
General
What can I do about climate change?
What does Greenpeace think about Carbon Capture and Storage?
Should governments put money into developing carbon capture and storage technology?
What is Greenpeace's position on carbon trading?
What does Greenpeace think about the use of biofuels?
Where can I get information on climate sceptics and arguments to counter their claims?
Energy
What is the Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable Australia Energy Outlook?
What are the growth implications of the Energy [R]evolution scenario?
What will happen to electricity bills under the Energy [R]evolution scenario?
What about coal workers? It isn't their fault that coal is polluting. Shouldn't you go easy on them?
How much energy can energy efficiency programs save?
What is baseload and peaking power?
What is Greenpeace’s position on nuclear power?
Would it be cheaper or easier to switch to nuclear energy than to renewable energy?
What is Greenpeace's position on windfarm developments. Do you think they can be put anywhere?
Does Greenpeace support the privatisation of the NSW electricity sector?
Renewable energy myths and facts
Do wind farms really reduce greenhouse emissions?
Reducing your climate impact
How do I switch to green power?
Which green power product/energy supplier does Greenpeace recommend?
What kind of carbon offset program should I use?
Which carbon offset company does Greenpeace recommend?
Where can I get advice on installing solar panels at home?
Where can I find information on energy efficiency at home?
Where can I get information on energy efficient building and design?
General
What can I do about climate change?
Join our campaign and become an Energy [R]evolutionary! Vocalise your support for the Energy [R]evolution. Write to your favourite newspaper or magazine, call radio, contact your local member of parliament to tell them that we urgently need an Energy [R]evolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Take action online right now. You can help pressure business and government decision makers to protect our environment and implement solutions. You'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you will be combining your efforts with many other people around Australia, the Pacific and the world.
Stay in touch. Sign up for our email updates and get good news about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice, and renewable energy solutions.
Join a climate action group in your area. If you are in Australia, the Climate Movement website lists existing groups. If there isn’t a group in your area, you can find information on setting up your own group on the Climate Movement website. If you do set up your own group, let us know. We are sharing campaign opportunities, ideas and resources with many amazing climate action groups. Contact our Local Communities Organiser on +61 2 9263 0379 or email: meg.ivory@au.greenpeace.org.
Reduce your own impact on the climate.
Why does Greenpeace focus on dealing with emissions from energy? What about emissions from transport, agriculture and forestry?
The single biggest source of greenhouse emissions worldwide is burning coal, oil and gas for energy. For instance 50 per cent of Australia's emissions come from energy use, 16 per cent come from agriculture, 14 per cent come from transport and 7 per cent come from forestry and land use. It is for this reason that, globally, Greenpeace is promoting energy efficiency and the shift away from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. We also campaign for the protection of the world's remaining ancient forests. Forests regulate the climate and are important centres of biological diversity and home to millions of people. Deforestation currently contributes to 20 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Ultimately, emissions need to be cut in all sectors. A broad climate action movement is necessary to make that happen. We encourage you to get involved with campaigns to reduce emissions from agriculture, forestry and transport.
What does Greenpeace think about carbon capture and storage?
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is risky and expensive and can’t deliver in time to avoid catastrophic climate change. The Greenpeace report, False Hope, shows that apart from a myriad of economic and technological barriers, carbon capture and storage is not likely to be commercially viable until at least 2030. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions have to start falling after 2015, just seven years away. The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution blueprint does not include any coal-fired electricity generation by 2030, and so renders CCS technology irrelevant.
Renewable energy is cheap, reliable and provides a proven source of emissions-free energy which doesn’t need a fuel supply. CCS can’t be used as an excuse to continue building new coal-fired power plants. Instead, all attention and investment should be put into technologies that can power our society and reduce carbon dioxide pollution today: renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Should governments put money into developing carbon capture and storage technology?
No. Relying on carbon capture and storage (CCS) to deliver us from climate change is a dangerous gamble. There are clean energy technologies and smart energy use initiatives that we can implement now.
Governments have a responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels and no matter how much money is thrown at CCS, the opportunity to avoid catastrophic climate change will have passed long before we will even know if CCS is workable. Governments should catalyse a shift to renewable energy and smart energy use. We can begin replacing fossil fuels with emission-free renewable energy right now and this is what governments should be working towards.
The IPCC estimates that upwards of 70 per cent of electricity sector emissions may not be suited for CCS by 2050. Alternative solutions are needed. Industry can worry about making this end-of-pipe technology work if they want to, but they will be accountable to their shareholders.
What is Greenpeace's position on carbon trading?
If carbon trading is going to work it must meet some key tests. First, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. The cap on greenhouse pollution must reduce emissions in line with this target.
Second, the emissions trading scheme must begin in full by no later than 1 July 2010. Slow starts are not acceptable as they compromise the purpose of the scheme.
Third, all permits must be auctioned – there must be no handing out of free permits. The purpose of an emissions trading scheme is to price pollution, and make the polluter pay. Giving free permits to polluters is undermining the very purpose of the scheme. Worse, it potentially equates to a handout to polluting industries, if they overestimate their emissions and are able to sell excess permits without actually reducing their emissions.
Fourth, the revenue raised from the emissions trading scheme must be used to support renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions to climate change. Energy efficiency measures double up as cost saving measures and can be used to assist low-income earners especially in adjusting to emissions trading.
More information is available on carbon trading at the Low Carbon Future website, supported by Greenpeace.
What does Greenpeace think about the use of biofuels?
Biofuels must not be used to the environmental, social or economic detriment of communities and ecosystems. We have to be very cautious and sceptical about the capacity of biofuels to deliver large-scale energy that is environmentally beneficial. This is because of food security concerns and the greenhouse impact of clearing forests to create biofuels.
Under Greenpeace’s Energy [R]evolution scenario, the role of biomass, that largely uses waste from agriculture, increases. However, the use of biofuels for transport remains constant, largely due to concerns about their sustainability.
Is Greenpeace telling people to eat kangaroo meat so that they can reduce their greenhouse emissions?
No. It was reported in 2007 that Greenpeace was calling on people to substitute farmed livestock meat with kangaroo meat in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is not the case. It is not Greenpeace policy to advocate eating kangaroo meat. There are many ways to take personal action on climate change. Reducing or stopping your red meat consumption will help decrease the greenhouse gas emissions that result from livestock farming.
While reducing personal greenhouse emissions is a positive step, we will need action at an individual, government and industrial level if we are going to seriously address climate change.
Where can I get information on climate sceptics and arguments to counter their claims?
The mainstream scientific consensus is that human activities are causing climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading authority on climate change science that brings together experts from around the world. The most recent IPCC report says that the climate is warming and scientists are more than 90 per cent confident that this is due to human greenhouse gas emissions. Read more about the evidence of climate change.
There is a handful of climate sceptics who occasionally receive media attention. Visit the RealClimate website for scientists' commentary on climate stories and climate sceptics.
Energy
What is the Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable Australia Energy Outlook?
The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable Australia Energy Outlook report provides a blueprint for a secure energy future, safe from rising fuel costs and with tens of thousands of new jobs.
The report demonstrates that by using existing technologies we can make major cuts to Australia's climate-changing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We can also create a vibrant renewable energy industry and begin phasing out the most polluting fossil fuels. The key points made by the Energy [R]evolution report are:
- Australia can phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030;
- 40 per cent of Australia's electricity can easily come from renewable energy by 2020;
- we can protect ourselves from skyrocketing fossil fuel prices and keep the cost of producing energy stable by using a variety of renewable energy technologies;
- the price of electricity from renewable energy can quickly become competitive with and eventually be cheaper than coal;
- up to 57,000 more jobs can be created by 2020 by the renewable energy industry and the implementation of energy efficiency measures
- Australia's greenhouse gas emissions can be cut by more than 40 per cent by 2020. This can be achieved by combining the CO2 emission reductions achieved under the Energy [R]evolution scenario with cuts from other sectors.
We can do all of this using existing technologies, without making major lifestyle changes and with the same level of GDP as could be expected under a business-as-usual approach.
What are the growth implications of the Energy [R]evolution scenario?
It is an important to note that the Energy [R]evolution scenario for Australia maintains the same GDP growth as a business-as-usual case. Transitioning to a renewable energy-based economy should only change the economy for the better, as we are opening up new opportunities for industry and innovation.
The reference case (or business as usual scenario) uses the most recent Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) statistics and energy price projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA). We also use figures from the German Space agency to determine resource potential and cost development of renewable energy technologies.
Will the economy be damaged by an energy revolution? What will be the long-term and short-term effects on the economy?
The Energy [R]evolution makes both environmental and economic sense. The cost of energy from coal, oil and gas is on the rise. Market-driven measures to cut greenhouse emissions (such as a tax on pollution) will only see prices continue to increase. Burning greenhouse-polluting fuels drives us further towards runaway climate change, the economic costs of which would be catastrophic.
The Energy [R]evolution will create more jobs and investment. By acting immediately, Australia can become a renewable energy world leader. Australia could supply renewable energy solutions worldwide and have its own supply of cheap, emissions-free energy. Most importantly, we can avoid the environmental and economic disaster of catastrophic climate change.
What will happen to electricity bills under the Energy [R]evolution scenario?
The price of electricity in Australia may increase slightly in the short term under the Energy [R]evolution scenario. However, as renewable energy increases in scale it quickly becomes more competitive and ultimately cheaper than coal. Further, energy efficiency measures result in a 10 per cent reduction in electricity consumption by 2020, making a direct reduction to electricity bills. In comparison, energy costs triple by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario. This is because of concerns over the availability of fossil fuels, market uncertainty, and the emergence of carbon pricing.
Is coal a big problem?
Yes. Burning coal to produce energy is the greatest threat to our climate. It accounts for over one-third of global carbon dioxide (C02) emissions, which make it the largest single source of C02. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), quoted in the Fourth Assessment Report (FAR) of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if business-as-usual predictions are realised, CO2 pollution from coal burning will increase 60 per cent by 2030. Phasing out coal is essential to prevent dangerous climate change.
The Energy [R]evolution report says that we can switch off all coal-fired power stations by 2030. Will people lose their jobs?
A gradual phase out of coal-fired electricity means there will be a decline in the number of jobs in Australia's coal industry. The number of jobs created by renewable energy and energy efficiency more than compensates for this loss. By 2020, the Energy [R]evolution results in a net gain of up to 57,000 jobs for Australia.
What about coal workers? It isn't their fault that coal is polluting. Shouldn't you go easy on them?
That’s right – it is important that coal workers are taken care of as we phase out coal-fired electricity. There are a number of ways to support coal communities. These include:
- placing new renewable energy projects where coal plants currently exist;
- retraining and re-skilling people to help deliver the renewable energy and energy efficiency measures outlined in the Energy [R]evolution Scenario;
- establishing manufacturing centres for renewable energy technologies in coal regions;
- providing direct government support.
It is vital that the transition to a renewable energy-based economy is just and fair, with minimal social and economic disruption. For more information see our Just Transitions fact sheet.
How much energy can energy efficiency programs save?
The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution report demonstrates that by 2020, we can cut primary energy demand by 16 per cent. One of the cheapest, quickest and easiest ways to reduce greenhouse emissions from energy is to simply not use energy. There is huge scope in Australia to make our cars, appliances and homes more energy efficient and take greater advantage of passive sources for heating and cooling that don’t use energy.
What is baseload and peaking power?
Baseload power is a strong and steady source of electricity that can be used as the base or foundation for our energy supply. On top of baseload, 'peaking power' is added to meet increased demand during peak times, such as early evening. In most of Australia, baseload power is provided by coal. However, this can change. There are many examples around the world, and even in Australia, where renewable energy is providing baseload power. In South Australia, for example, wind energy is able to provide baseload power. This is because planning ensured a reliable contribution of energy comes from wind farms.
The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution scenario uses five technologies that provide baseload power and have huge potential in Australia: biomass, hydro, ocean, geothermal and concentrated solar power.
Can we really rely on renewable energy? What happens when the sun stops shining or the wind stops blowing?
Technologies such as geothermal, solar thermal, biomass and ocean energy all provide steady, reliable baseload power.
Other technologies like wind and solar panels are subject to the weather. However, weather forecasting is very reliable and, in most cases, any lack of sun or wind can be predicted and compensated for (for instance, by cranking up hydro and biomass generation). 10 per cent of South Australia’s electricity is reliably delivered by wind energy.
Solar thermal and geothermal energy can deliver massive amounts of steady, reliable electricity into Australia’s grid. These technologies are already being used in other parts of the world where the right political and economic drivers have been established.
Major energy economies like California plan to fast-track renewable energy so that it provides 33 per cent of electricity by 2020. In parts of Germany and Denmark, wind power is providing over 100 per cent of the region’s power needs for months of the year.
What is Greenpeace's position on nuclear power?
Nuclear power is dangerous and expensive and it is no solution to climate change. Read more here.
Would it be cheaper or easier to switch to nuclear energy than to renewable energy?
Aside from being a massive security risk, nuclear energy is an expensive option for providing energy and would take many years to develop. What’s more, because of the enormous greenhouse footprint in mining and transporting uranium, building and decommissioning nuclear plants, the overall reductions in greenhouse emissions are a fraction of what we can achieve by using renewable energy. Renewables are ready to go now, don’t rely on a fuel source (except for biomass), and can produce large-scale baseload energy.
What is Greenpeace's position on wind farm developments. Do you think they can be put anywhere?
Greenpeace promotes wind power as one of a suite of renewable energy and energy savings technologies. We support the best practice guidelines on the development of wind energy facilities. You can find a copy of this on the Clean Energy Council's website.
Does Greenpeace support the privatisation of the NSW electricity sector?
No. Privatising the electricity sector will only make the job of reforming the polluting energy sector harder.
Greenpeace believes that governments must be actively engaged in the electricity sector in the coming decades to ensure that the production and consumption of electricity is consistent with the need to avoid dangerous climate change.
If we are to win our battle against climate change, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and to zero as quickly as possible beyond that date.
Achieving this will require massive reductions in the amount of electricity that all Australians use – governments will need to implement energy efficiency measures, and replace coal-fired power stations with zero-emission renewable energy technologies.
As a result, how electricity is produced, and how much is consumed, cannot be a decision that is left entirely to the market.
In addition, meeting our required emission reduction targets will inevitably require the accelerated phase-out of existing power stations. The private sector will want to be assured of profit margins, and will not commit to a phase out of coal-fired power stations unless heavily compensated. This would make the sell-off much less commercially attractive to the state government and see more taxpayers’ money end up in the hands of corporations. The NSW government needs to drop its privatisation plans.
Renewable energy myths and facts
I heard that more energy is required during the manufacture of solar panels than they actually produce when in use. Is this true?
This isn't true. New photovoltaic (PV) cells have a payback period for embodied energy of around two to three years. The systems are expected to run for at least 30 years. Furthermore much of the embodied energy in a solar panel is actually in the aluminium frame. New solar tiles and built-in PV cells remove the need for an aluminium frame.
Are wind turbines noisy?
Wind turbines do make some noise, but improvements mean new turbines make less and less noise. For example, a modern wind turbine at 350 metres sounds about as noisy as a quiet bedroom, or as noisy as a busy road that is five kilometres away. A wind turbine 100 metres away in a typical Australian residential area would be drowned out by the sound of traffic and other background noise. The main noise is the "swishing" sound of a turbine's rotating blades. If you stand close enough you will also hear the noise from its gearbox. As the wind picks up, the swishing gets louder, but is usually masked by the sound of the wind in the surroundings. Wind turbine noise is usually described as a natural, rather than an industrial sound.
Do wind farms kill birds?
All tall structures pose a risk to birds. Greenpeace opposes building wind farms on sensitive bird habitat; however, properly sited modern wind turbines in Australia carry a very low risk to birds. They typically cause one to two bird deaths per turbine each year.
Compared to power lines, cars, and domestic cats, wind farms' risk to birds is low. Bird deaths at Australian windfarms are also lower than in the northern hemisphere. Research at Victoria's Codrington and Toora wind farms reported very few deaths of common bird species, and no deaths of rare, endangered or threatened birds.
On the other hand, climate change threatens the extinction of up to 37 per cent of all Australian species, including birds, by 2050. Building wind farms to produce clean energy is an important way to address this risk.
The UK Royal Society for the Protection of Birds agrees that climate change is the greatest long-term threat to birds, and advocates the use of appropriately sited wind farms, along with other types of renewable energy.
Are wind farms unreliable?
Wind farms only work when it is windy, which is why wind turbines are located to take advantage of strong and consistent winds. In Australia, wind farms are generally in use more than 95 per cent of the time. This compares favourably with conventional power plants. In some parts of Germany, wind energy can contribute up to 70 per cent of a region's electricity needs.
The wind does not stop blowing everywhere in Australia all at once. As more wind farms are built throughout the country, their contribution to the electricity grid will even out. State of the art wind forecasting can also help us predict and manage wind farm energy.
We shouldn't expect to rely on wind farms for 100 per cent of our needs but they are an important part of our future energy mix. Australia cannot continue to rely on greenhouse-intensive, polluting coal power for 84 per cent of its electricity.
Do wind farms really reduce greenhouse emissions?
Yes. For example, a 10-megawatt wind farm in Victoria would displace about 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to Victoria's Sustainable Energy Authority. That is equivalent to taking 9200 cars off the road. At the same time this wind farm would supply enough energy for 5700 average households. The exact quantity of greenhouse emissions prevented by wind farms would vary from place to place, because it depends on the energy used in a given area. Gas and bioenergy generation can be quickly "turned on and off". These energy sources can be used to complement and even out the variable power from wind farms.
Reducing your climate impact
What is green power?
Green Power is energy that electricity suppliers buy on behalf of their customers from renewable sources. When you switch to green power, your energy supplier will pay for more clean, renewable energy to be delivered into the electricity grid. Learn more about green power.
How do I switch to green power?
Green power is available from your usual energy supplier in nearly all Australian states. For more information on accredited green energy products visit the Green Power website.
Which green power product/energy supplier does Greenpeace recommend?
In keeping with our independence, we don't endorse a particular green power product or supplier.
We recommend that you sign up for accredited 100 per cent renewable energy products. Ask your supplier for a green power product sourced entirely from renewable energy sources.
If you also ask for green power products that contain 'new' renewable energy, you will help drive the expansion of the renewable energy industry. New renewable energy is energy generated since 1997 - instead of energy generated, for example, by a hydro power station that was built in the 1950s.
You can find out how environment groups rate Australia’s green power products by visiting the Green Electricity Watch website.
What kind of carbon offset program should I use?
Preferably one that invests in new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects or that protects existing forests. It’s important to know, however, that carbon offsets are not the ultimate solution to climate change.
The concept behind carbon offsetting is that you pay to support projects that reduce greenhouse emissions, thereby offsetting your own fossil fuel use. Carbon offsetting is essentially like buying a licence to pollute, which is never better than not polluting at all. Really, the best way that you can reduce your personal carbon dioxide (C02) emissions is to avoid and reduce your use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). Purchasing carbon offsets won’t completely negate your use of fossil fuels.
Some carbon offset schemes are better than others. Some support the development of new renewable energy or energy efficiency projects, contributing to the shift away from carbon intensive energy production such as coal-fired power. Others support the protection of existing forests as “carbon sinks”, which is extremely important when you consider that deforestation currently contributes to 20 per cent of global CO2 emissions.
However, some schemes involve the planting of new trees to take carbon out of the atmosphere. The concept that you can remove your greenhouse pollution from the atmosphere like this is flawed. Burning fossil fuels for energy releases into the atmosphere C02 that has been locked away for millennia, and plantation trees and soil can only capture it for a relatively short period of time.
The real solution to climate change is a rapid shift away from taking fossil fuels out of the ground and burning them in the first place. Greenpeace is promoting the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy like wind and solar, and energy efficiency. We also campaign to protect the world’s ancient forests.
Carbon offsetting should be seen as a stopgap measure during the transition to a renewable energy future. It should be treated cautiously, to ensure that you are not simply contributing to a diversion from the real task at hand. And the particular scheme you use should be chosen very carefully.
Which carbon offset company does Greenpeace recommend?
In keeping with our independence, we don’t endorse particular companies. We can, however, tell you what kind of offset company we use.
To reduce the impact of our operations, Greenpeace contributes to a carbon-offset company that supports new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and follows the international Clean Development Mechanism Gold Standard. This is the highest standard of carbon credit available globally and was developed by the world’s leading environmental groups. Gold Standard carbon credits are independently verified and compliant with the Kyoto Protocol (the international treaty on greenhouse gas emissions reductions).
I'm concerned about the greenhouse gas emissions from travelling by air. What can I do? What is Greenpeace doing about this?
Aviation accounts for 3 per cent of carbon emissions globally. This is expected to increase to 7 per cent if industry growth continues at the same pace. As fuel prices increase, airlines are looking to increase efficiencies.
To reduce, but not completely eliminate the impact of our operations, we buy carbon offsets. (You can read more about carbon offsetting above.) We recognise, however, that over the long-term the real solution to climate change is a shift away from taking fossil fuels out of the ground and burning them in the first place.
Where can I get advice on installing solar panels at home?
- The Clean Energy Council provides a list of accredited installers in each state.
- The Alternative Technology Association (ATA) provides extensive and practical information on using renewable energy at home.
- The federal government offers a photovoltaic rebate to offset initial costs when installing solar PV systems.
Have you also thought about installing solar water heating? While the initial cost is more than gas or electric heating, it pays for itself in a few years and can dramatically reduce your household electricity bill. The federal government provides rebates for some solar hot water systems.
Where can I find information on energy efficiency at home?
Energy efficiency is one of the cheapest, easiest and quickest ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is plenty that can be done around the home and through the choices we make as consumers to minimise our carbon footprint. The Energyrating website has more information on energy efficient products, standards and accountability.
Where can I get information on energy efficient building and design?
Information on energy efficient building and design can be found on the Department of Environment website.
