The great backyard Aussie barbecue could be the next frontier in the war on climate change with bottled gas producers striving to be ‘greener’ than their competitors, says Dr Lurion De Mello from Macquarie Business School.
Hitting home: Producers of gas bottles used to fire our backyard barbecues could soon be using green credentials to gain a competitive edge.
“From measuring calories at the local burger joint to calculating kilograms of carbon between flying destinations, we are constantly dealing with forms of measurement,” says De Mello, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Finance.
The gas industry in the US is proposing to certify fuel sold to households that is obtained by responsible means. Gas producers speaking at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners said the move was crucial for the industry to maintain market share in the US.
Failure to address greenhouse gas emissions by producers would jeopardise jobs and billions of dollars of infrastructure in a net-zero future.
We have responsibly produced salmon, coffee beans and even diamonds – so why not responsibly produce natural gas.
“We could certainly see producers of gas bottles used to fire our backyard barbecues using green credentials to gain a competitive edge over their rivals,” said Dr De Mello.
“We are more familiar with carbon dioxide emissions but methane leaks in the gas industry is a known problem.
“If some type of certification system – of the sort now being proposed in the US – was adopted in Australia, consumers could make a more informed choice around the origins of the gas they were purchasing and the impact its production was having on the environment.
“We have responsibly produced salmon, coffee beans and even diamonds – so why not responsibly produce natural gas,” Dr De Mello adds.
Future regulation
There are currently no commercial consequences for gas producers who pollute the environment during the manufacturing or transporting of their product.
Targets: Dr Lurion De Mello says a certification system would allow consumers to make a more informed choice around the origins of the gas they use.
A classification system which acknowledged gas companies who are low emitters of greenhouse gas would change that.
“The measurement economy is coming because everyone is trying to reach the 2050 net zero emission target. If the system being proposed in America is adopted, we would likely see it in Australia before long,” De Mello said.
“It is inevitable that retail gas providers will catch onto this to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
“There are several ways they can promote themselves as low emissions producers. Fixing leaks is one way. Bottling the gas close to its source is another.
“It would present some challenges to the Government in terms of regulation and enforcement to ensure companies were not making false claims. But I can certainly see this happening at some point.”
Dr Lurion De Mello is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Applied Finance and a member of the International Association for Energy Economics.
