[jbarham]

>> will do nothing for emissions > How can that be?

Because a reduction of domestic gas usage will just be diverted to less efficient LNG exports.

Given that by far the largest source of Victoria's electricity generation capacity is from dirty brown coal [1] if anything banning domestic gas usage might even make emissions worse since it will force people to use only electricity for cooking and heating.

> Direct consumption emissions are eliminated.

Ah, so burning Aussie natural gas in Asia (after it's been liquified and then turned back into gas) is somehow better for the environment than just burning it in Australia?

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Victoria#Electricity...

[kalleboo]

> Ah, so burning Aussie natural gas in Asia is somehow better for the environment than just burning it in Australia?

If it displaces burning coal in Asia, maybe it is? https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14670874

[paranoidrobot]

The chart you link to shows that Brown Coal, as both a total, and as an overall percentage of the grid, is decreasing, with renewables increasing.

Indeed, if you look at the three Brown Coal generators in Victoria[1], Yallorn is due to shut down in 2028 taking ~30% (1480MW) of that away, followed by Loy Yang A in 2035 which will take another ~40% (2200MW) of that capacity.

So, banning new LNG appliances now, and starting that migration will have a net positive impact.

This is true even if the LNG continues to be burned overseas if it's replacing coal fired generation capacity.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coal-fired_power_stati...

[rmm]

This. Have friends in this industry.

The biggest pushers of no domestic gas are the producers and finance guys. They make a lot more money on exports.

[idiotsecant]

Is the correct strategy to wait to regulate gas usage until every country on earth does the same? That doesn't seem like a winning strategy. Someone always has to be last.

[tsimionescu]

If you want to help the environment, you regulate both gas usage and exports. The goal is to keep gas in the ground, where it belongs, not to move it to other countries.

[hardolaf]

Except gas exports are largely being used to retire brown coal burning which is even worse for the environment than LNG. This isn't an all-or-nothing deal even with exports. The richer countries should take on the costs of better efficiency first and we can trickle those technologies down to other nations as they become cheaper than LNG and coal.

[looofooo0]

It is stupid, with less Gas available on the LNG Market other LNG Producers will increase production or they will use other Energy sources such as coal.

[paranoidrobot]

It's banning the installation of NEW LNG appliances in homes in Victoria.

It doesn't impact commercial use of LNG, or the extraction or export of LNG.

[ffgjgf1]

Banning domestic gas usage while a significant proportion of you electricity supply is produced by burning coal seems beyond absurd..

[paranoidrobot]

Except that it won't be that way forever. 30% of that generation goes away in 4 years. The rate of solar and wind generators coming onto the grid is massive, putting pressure on the brown coal generators.

We are also not talking about ripping out the existing install base of appliances.

It will take at least a decade or two for that switch to reach a critical mass. That's the point when it becomes uneconomic to continue operating the domestic piped LNG network in Victoria.

[AnarchismIsCool]

It costs money to transport LNG abroad. Ships, terminal infrastructure maintenance, people, it's all overhead. Ultimately if people stop using natural gas domestically there will be a reduction in production because that overhead eats into the profits of the producers.

[ikr678]

All that export infra is paid for/backed by long term shipping contracts.

Finance for domestic infra is harder to get because no one wants to be locked into 20 year supply arrangements.

The Japanese were, and that's what paid for Gladstone, and that's why for a period, Australian ng was cheaper in Japan than on-shore.

[cinntaile]

In the last 3 years coal went from 65% to 58%, expect this trend to continue and even accelerate. See the link below. https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/renewable-energy/victorian-ren...

[Tiktaalik]

Seems like the main issue here is Victoria burning coal and they should stop doing that.

[paranoidrobot]

That's already the plan, though it would help push things if the government stopped subsidising the industry.