{"id":20667,"date":"2018-04-09T08:08:21","date_gmt":"2018-04-08T21:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=20667"},"modified":"2018-04-09T08:08:21","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T21:38:21","slug":"nt-fracking-emissions-mb0537","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/nt-fracking-emissions-mb0537\/","title":{"rendered":"Unconventional Gas Could Totally Frack Up Emissions Efforts In The NT"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fracking

Image: anita_starzycka<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Analysis of the final report into fracking in the Northern Territory reveals the practice could dwarf the emissions reduction benefits from the NT’s renewable energy aspirations.<\/p>\n

The Final Report from The Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing, released late last month, signified the end of a long investigation into the associated environmental, social and economic risks and impacts of accessing onshore unconventional gas reserves in the Territory. The report will help inform a decision by the NT Government as to whether a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing established in September 2016 should end and the Territory opened up to fracking.<\/p>\n

Risk Assessment Change Of Heart<\/h2>\n

The Final Report is a hefty tome, but something that stood out in the summary was this:<\/p>\n

“For any new onshore shale gas field in the NT, the Panel assessed the unmitigated risks to climate change associated with methane emissions and GHG emissions (including methane) to be either \u2018medium\u2019 or \u2018high\u2019. At these levels of risk, further mitigation is required.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the draft Final report, the risk was just noted as “medium”, so the change in assessment between the draft and final reports was quite interesting.<\/p>\n

Even with the acknowledgement of this, the Panel still believes challenges and risks associated with any onshore shale gas industry in the NT can be “appropriately managed” – if all of the many recommendations it made are implemented, and in full. The Territory is a huge place that’s sparsely populated, so managing and monitoring the sector to ensure adherence would be quite a task.<\/p>\n

The Australia Institute has been taking a look at the report and has concluded that allowing fracking in the Territory could result in:<\/p>\n