It is coal that is the ‘dirtiest’ in terms of carbon emissions.
The question is how do we get new technologies that are much more carbon efficient to replace cheap dirty coal rather than more costly gas or hydro?
The low cost of coal makes it very hard to get traction on removing it from the energy equation.
Not that gas is somehow wonderfully ‘clean’ – when you factor in the risks to our top farming soils and national acquifers it looks very toxic.
‘For example if subsidised renewable electricity sourced from wind or solar displaces gas-fired electricity — or possibly even hydro electricity — the abatement achieved will be far less (maybe zero) compared with a situation where coal-fired electricity was displaced. This possibility is not fanciful — operators will displace higher cost energy sources before cheaper ones (coal).” Productivity Commission