May 8, 2023
NO CO2, no tree.
That is the simple slogan which sets the premise for Katter’s Australian Party MP Bob Katter’s latest “fashionable campaign” in which he will expose the anti-coal brigade and advocate for the use of the resource which the nation’s economy and electricity supply rely upon.
Mr Katter has designed a vest which reads “No CO2, no tree,” on one side, and on the other it states: “No tree, no me,” with a picture of koala hanging in a tree.
The North Queensland MP debuted his new vest at the opening of Bowen Coking Coal’s Burton Coal Mine, north of Mackay on Thursday.
Mr Katter said the light-hearted reminder came as the country’s leaders continued to gamble with the nation’s economic prosperity and reliable energy sources by cancelling coal in Australia.
“We’ve got over 8000mw in coal-fired power stations coming off the grid over the next five years,” Mr Katter said.
“And the one major base-load replacement we had coming online – Snowy Hydro 2.0 – is looking more likely than not to be delayed another two years.[1]
“Meanwhile, every month, there seams to be a warning from the AEMO of future electricity shortages and the urgent need to invest in back-up power supplies.[2]
“So, we are starting a grassroots campaign to expose anyone who claims to be ‘green’ and using no coal, Mr Katter said.
“We’re going to remind them, they’re buying their electricity – in the form of intermittent power – solar panels and wind turbines – from China, who is manufacturing these components using its rapidly expanding coal-fired power network.
“And guess what? China doesn’t buy its electricity from China, it buys its coal from Australia.”
Mr Katter said first on his anti-coal exposure hitlist was beer company Victoria Bitter and supermarket giant Coles. [3]
The two major corporations have signed up to operate on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 by purchasing electricity from solar and wind farms.[4]
“You might think you’re not buying your electricity from coal, but just take a good look at where your solar panels and wind turbines are coming from.
“You don’t buy from Australian coal which supports thousands of jobs, funds roads, schools, hospitals and the economy… well we the middle class people won’t be buying from you Coles and VB.”
Mr Katter said while the campaign made fun of having no trees if there was no carbon dioxide, he was “all for a pullback of emissions"
“Research shows in the last 20 years, we’ve lowered emissions by 16 per cent, not even 1 per cent, per year.
“So what we’re doing at the moment isn’t working, and that 16 per cent wouldn’t account for the CO2 we’re sending overseas to have our solar panels built.”
Mr Katter said he had been pleading for years to increase the uptake of ethanol and to invest in High Efficiency, Low Emission coal-fired power stations paired with algae ponds – which absorb CO2.
[2]AEMO warns on ‘urgent’ need for new electricity supplies | The Australian
[3]VB beer deliveries go green with Volvo electric truck (thedriven.io)