Dr Kaye said: “A major component of NSW Treasurer Costa’s $15 billion privatisation was a massive private sector investment in carbon reduction technologies, which is increasingly looking like the impossible dream.

“The Iemma government justifies the environmental risks of long term leasing of the state-owned generators and the sale of the retailers by arguing that it would encourage investment in clean coal technologies to reduce carbon emissions.

“The collapse of the world’s largest clean coal project makes a mockery of Treasurer Costa’s attempted green washing of privatisation.

“The Iemma government’s sell-off scheme relied on ensuring that the private sector would invest between $3 to $4 billion in retrofitting the state’s existing power stations with carbon capture and storage and would pony up the additional money to build new base load generation with low carbon technologies.

“The Bush administration has just delivered a body blow to carbon capture and storage.

“By pulling their $2 billion investment out of the FutureGen project in Illinois, the US administration has delivered a massive vote of no confidence in clean coal and consequently in Michael Costa’s electricity privatisation deal.

“The electricity industry in NSW is responsible for 57 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

“It makes no sense to hand over 35% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to private owners when carbon reduction technologies are increasingly looking farcical,” Dr Kaye said.

For more information:    John Kaye 0407 195 455