PIPELINES, POLITICS AND PROSPERITY: THE ROLE OF NATURAL GAS IN THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

Abstract

As the preferred 'growth fuel' at the turn of the millennium, natural gas carries a great weight of expectations. Globally, it offers a partial solution to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions as a substitute for other fossil fuels, while at the same time reducing the security risks attached to dependence on oil by providing greater diversity of energy supply. Regionally, it is envisaged as the 'clean' fuel that will render Asia's burgeoning cities more livable. In Australia, it lies at the heart of a process of energy market liberalisation aimed at improved economic efficiency and expansion of Australia's energy-intensive export industries. This process, however, has yet to internalise the true value of gas in regard to environment and security. Moreover, whether the prosperity promised to the East Asia/Pacific region as a whole by new pipelines and LNG plants will be environmentally and logistically sustainable is a political question linked to events outside the region. As gas infrastructure becomes more regional in concept, and energy markets converge and become more competitive, there is a risk that the security and environmental problems associated with the 'age of oil', far from being ameliorated, will be perpetuated.