Today, gas is essential to our economy and modern lifestyles. In the future, gas will continue to be essential as Australia makes the transformation to a cleaner energy future.
Whether it’s for hot water, domestic heating, or gas-fired cooking, gas plays a central role in the lives of over 6.5 million Australian households. Today, gas delivers 44% of Australia’s household energy but only 13% of household greenhouse gas emissions.
Gas provides nearly a quarter of Australia’s total energy supply. Gas also plays an important role in our economy with approximately 130,000 commercial businesses relying on gas. Major industries use gas for energy and as a feedstock for manufacturing products such as plastics, chemicals and fertilisers. Figures collated by Deloitte demonstrate that gas underpins a variety of local industries. It estimates that half of the gas consumed in Australia is used in manufacturing and mining industries that contribute $196 billion to the national economy employing 949,000 Australians.
Gas has an essential role to play in reducing emissions. In the home, gas is a cleaner fuel than electricity from the grid. Fuel switching from coal to gas offers the most immediate and risk-free option to cut emissions from the electricity generation sector. Jacobs foresees at least a tripling of gas-fired generation as part of its least cost path to achieving our nation’s 2030 emissions target.