Peak Oil
Peak oil is a reality that we must face up to as surely as we must face up to climate change. But the greatest challenge is to face up to them together and ensure that we do not make one worse by tackling the other.
Our society and economy are based around the cheap, plentiful supply of oil. Even our most basic products like milk depend on oil and our transport system relies heavily on it.
But now, as world demand for oil begins to outpace supply, we face a serious challenge. Prices will rise and the search for alternatives will heat up.
Australia spends more than $15 billion a year on crude oil imports and refined petroleum. Higher import bills in years ahead, alongside increased costs for Australian goods thanks to higher transport costs, will put pressure on interest rates.
We need to plan for falling oil supply and higher prices. This means shifting to greater use of public transport, walking and cycling, more fuel-efficient private cars, getting freight out of trucks and into trains, and researching alternative fuels that also reduce greenhouse emissions.
The worst outcome, and one which the fossil fuel corporations are pushing hard for, would be replacing oil with even more polluting fuels such as coal-to-liquids, shale oil or tar sands. There is no point tackling peak oil if, in the process, we make climate change worse.
If we don't take positive action fast to reduce our reliance on oil, avoiding the traps of more polluting fuels, then we risk serious disruption to community life, the environment and the economy.
