Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Gas Energy Australia (GEA) has a high level of engagement with climate policy, which is mostly limited to advocacy promoting a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix. The association also appears to favor the future use of biogas and renewable gas over full electrification.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: GEA displays limited top-line messaging on climate policy. In a November 2022 consultation submission on the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s Climate Policy and Action Plan, the association supported the state’s draft response to climate change as well as the transition to a net zero economy by 2050.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: GEA’s recent engagement with specific climate-related policies is confined to advocacy relating to the energy transition. However, in a September 2022 consultation submission on Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism (SGM) reforms, the association supported the proposed role of the SGM in limiting emissions from industrial facilities in line with the country’s legislated targets, while also noting that it is important that facilities “are encouraged to reduce emissions in a technology-neutral manner.” Further, GEA advocated for renewable gases to be factored into the SGM as fuels that can reduce facilities’ Scope 1 emissions and appeared to support incentivizing emissions reductions via “new and emerging renewable gas fuels.”
Positioning on Energy Transition: GEA’s comments on the energy transition are mostly limited to promoting a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix. The association also appears to favor the future use of biogas and renewable gas over full electrification. In a June 2024 consultation submission, for example, the association emphasized that liquid petroleum gas (LPG) has a vital role to play in the energy transition as a “renewable energy source that can quickly and relatively easily fully decarbonise.” In its April 2024 consultation submission on Australia’s Electricity and Energy Sector Plan, GEA advocated for the federal government to support large-scale investment in renewable gases, including bioLPG and rLPG, for use in some hard-to-abate sectors and appeared to promote these energy sources over electrification in non-hard-to-abate sectors, such as residential heating and cooking, stressing economic costs of electrification. In addition, the CEO of GEA, Brett Heffernan, stated in an April 2024 LinkedIn post that “a future built in Australia needs gas,” emphasizing that “there is nothing transitional about it. Gas is necessary.”
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the association’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically.
This summary was last updated in Q4 2024.