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Australia’s top 10 worst polluters revealed: report

ABC

ABC

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has taken aim at the coal-fired power industry and the mining sector in a report naming and shaming Australia’s top 10 worst polluters.

The report has found just 10 companies are directly responsible for a third of Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator.

Energy Australia, responsible for the Yallourn coal-fired power station in Victoria, is the worst offender at number one with a 20.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent gases.

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The next two biggest polluters were Macquarie Generation and AGL Energy. Of the miners, Rio Tinto was the worst at number four.

“They are energy and mining companies, many of which rely on outdated and polluting technologies to build profits for their companies at the expense of the climate we all share,” ACF president Geoff Cousins said in the report.

“While most of the top 10 polluters publicly accept climate change and their responsibilities to reduce pollution, some have opposed important mechanisms such as the carbon price and the Renewable Energy Target.”

Mr Cousins also slammed the Federal Government’s stance on climate change.

“The Federal Government ditched a carbon price that was working, is undermining the Renewable Energy Target and is maintaining a pathetic international target to cut pollution by just 5 per cent on 2000 levels in 2020,” he said.

“Sadly, the Federal Government appears to be listening to the biggest polluters over the Australian people.”

The ACF said it hoped the report would shine a light on the big polluters and change the debate on energy production.

“Emissions from electricity generation have fallen in the past three years, but to reduce emissions further we must regain a bipartisan approach to energy and climate policy to restore the bankability of the sector and allow investment in new generation,” the Energy Supply Association of Australia said in a statement.

“A survey of major banks and other investors late last year confirmed that there is an unwillingness to support new generation projects because of chronic oversupply, weak wholesale prices and policy instability.”

For a list of Australia’s top 10 worst polluters click the owl  

ABC

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