The Oil Drum: Local

This is an open letter from Stuart McCarthy of ASPO Australia in Brisbane to Professor Ross Garnaut, who is conducting a public review "to examine the impacts, challenges and opportunities of climate change for Australia".

Dear Professor Garnaut,

Implications of Oil Production Decline Forecasts for Copenhagen 2009

Thank you for providing the opportunity for comment on the Review following the release of your Targets and Trajectories Supplementary Draft Report. ASPO-Australia has followed the Review with interest as oil depletion is very much the ‘other side of the coin’ regarding anthropogenic climate change.

We are deeply concerned that your Draft Report explicitly rejects the notion that oil depletion will constrain economic growth within the next 50 years despite very strong evidence to the contrary. In our view the resulting analysis, conclusions and policy recommendations are flawed and will probably exacerbate the climate change mitigation problem.

_{Figure 1. Colin Campbell/ASPO World Production Profile, Oil and Gas Liquids, 2007 Scenario}

Mark Reynolds in NSW provided this excellent submission to the Australian Federal Government's Garnaut Climate Change Review on Issue Paper Number 5: Transport Planning and the Built Environment.

Mark's complete submission is available as a PDF.

Professor Garnaut,

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission. In the following pages I set out to show that you have not included in your thinking to date the most disruptive factor affecting transport emissions. Given that oil is the lifeblood of our transport system I provide evidence that escalating oil costs and supply constraints are real and critical within short planning horizons. I then describe four linked and supportive policy thrusts to develop a low emissions transport sector in Australia, with economic, social and environmental benefits.