A new tv advertisement will begin airing nationally from Sunday featuring research from the Australia Institute that exposes the false solutions to climate change currently perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry.

The initiative builds on research by the Australia Institute showing that dodgy carbon credits and dirty hydrogen are actually expanding the demand for gas and coal.

Key Details:

• Research shows that at least 25% of Australian carbon credits are hot air. Rather than review existing issues with carbon credits the Federal Government has a mandate to boost supply to the market.
• Boosting supply of affordable carbon credits means the fossil fuel industry can increase production while claiming to ‘offset’ some of their emissions.
• The Federal Government has invented the term ‘Clean Hydrogen’ to include genuine zero-emissions hydrogen made from renewable energy, and from fossil fuels (a high polluting process)
• The Federal Government had selected so-called ‘Clean Hydrogen’ and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as two of its five priorities in its Low Emissions Technology Statement.
• The unsuccessful technology CCS can now earn Australian carbon credits and is being used to justify investing in fossil fuel hydrogen, in the hope of burying some of the emissions with CCS

“We are entering the great era of carbon fraud. Instead of rushing to end fossil-fuels, there is going to be a gold rush for false solutions: dodgy carbon credits being used to offset pollution, dirty hydrogen and costly carbon capture and storage,” said Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute.

“There is something quite sinister in pushing so-called solutions to climate change which actually enable more fossil fuels; the intentionally misnamed ‘clean hydrogen’ is the best example.

“When a zero-emissions hydrogen is available right now, it boggles the mind why the Federal Government insists on supporting hydrogen made from gas and coal – a process that is more high polluting than simply burning the gas and coal directly.

“Ensuring Australia’s carbon credits system has integrity, and that the rush to hydrogen is based on genuine zero-emissions hydrogen – made with renewable energy not fossil fuels – is going to be key if Australia is to meet the climate challenge.

“This initiative aims to highlight that unless Australia produces zero emissions hydrogen and restores integrity to our carbon credits system, Australia is just fuelling more net zero fraud.”

The television commercial airing nationally from Sunday can be viewed here. Australia Institute explainers on Carbon Credits and Hydrogen are attached.