A new report from the Grattan Institute reveals that gas consumption across all sectors in Australia has peaked and is now in a structural decline. While residential use peaked in 2020 and LNG exports likely peaked in 2022, the report warns that current declines are not fast enough to meet national net zero targets. The research suggests that relying on gas as a transition fuel is a vague strategy and that the actual volume needed for grid backup will be significantly lower than previous decades. The institute calls for targeted phaseout dates for residential gas to avoid a costly reliance on unproven carbon capture technologies.
