Mind the gap! The reality of ongoing fossil fuel versus renewable ambition: Russell

Mind the gap! The reality of ongoing fossil fuel versus renewable ambition: Russell

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

ADELAIDE - Australia's vast liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry is trying to pull off something that seems almost impossible. They want to lead the transition to clean and renewable energy, while at the same time continuing to invest in, and produce fossil fuels.

The over-arching message from the industry annual conference was that the LNG producers see themselves as drivers of the change to net-zero, and that they are best-placed to deliver the solutions that will end carbon emissions while still providing the needed energy for humanity.

Australia is the world's largest exporter of LNG, although it is likely to overtaken by rivals the United States and Qatar as both those countries expand capacity at a faster pace.

Australia's LNG producers also want to develop new natural gas fields and processing plants, and at the same time invest billions of dollars to de-carbonise their industry and develop new energy sources, such as hydrogen and ammonia.

In effect, what the industry was talking about at this week's Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) event was a plan to carry on business as usual, while also ramping up efforts to get to net-zero