Carbon Economy

Via Reuters: Geely-owned Volvo Car Group said on Wednesday all new models launched from 2019 will be fully electric or hybrids, spelling the eventual end to nearly a century of Volvos powered solely by the internal combustion engine.

Via The Guardian: Avoiding dangerous levels of climate change is still just about possible, but will require unprecedented effort and coordination from governments, businesses, citizens and scientists in the next three years, a group of prominent experts has warned.

Chalk up another one, via Phil Coorey:  The Turnbull government will almost certainly settle on a clean energy target, but one that will classify so-called clean coal as a low-emissions energy source in a bid to win the support of a bitterly divided party room.

Do-Labor Malcolm is happy at the AFR: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says chief scientist Alan Finkel’s report on energy security will take the “ideology and politics” out of climate policy.

From King Toad of the Loon Pond: Mr Abbott said the nation’s power system should be run to provide “affordable, reliable energy, not primarily to reduce emissions”.

From Alan Kohler today: Sorry Richo, but I’m right.

At The Australian: US President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, Axios news outlet reports, citing two unidentified sources with direct knowledge of the decision.

Via the FT: Donald Trump walked out of the G7 on Saturday at loggerheads with the rest of the big western economies over climate change, amid fears that the US will pull out of the Paris accord on tackling global warming.

File this one under human folly, Via The Guardian: It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever.

Via The Guardian: Friday was Britain’s first ever working day without coal power since the Industrial Revolution, according to the National Grid.

Cross-posted from Reneweconomy.

Via Macquarie:  Last week we hosted BP’s Chief Economist, Spencer Dale, to hear the oil major’s latest views on the likely trajectory of global energy markets.

From the Climate Institute annual report: KEY FINDINGS 1.

From Crikey: Just like his broadband policy, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he wants energy policy to be technology neutral.

Last week, the local gas price, which determines prices in the National Electricity Market (NEM), rebounded to $11.01/Gj, roughly 400% higher than the long term average.

From Reneweconomy: Opposition leader Bill Shorten has accused the Coalition government of policy vandalism on energy, and committed to an emissions intensity scheme that he insists will deliver Labor’s target of 50 per cent renewables in the country’s electricity system by 2030.

By Leith van Onselen The ABS yesterday released its annual energy account report for 2014-15, which revealed that Australian households have become more energy efficient: “Despite a small increase in energy use, Australian households are becoming more efficient in their use of energy”, said Lauren Binns from the ABS’ Environment and Agriculture Branch.

It’s a world turned upside down.

Via The Australian: BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie, who took a $US105 million cost hit at the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia after recent blackouts, says the nation’s renewable energy schemes could raise costs and reduce power security while having no impact on emissions.

Guest post from Kate Mackenzie of the Climate Institute. APRA’s Geoff Summerhayes on Friday delivered a whole speech entirely about climate change risk at the Insurance Council of Australia conference on Friday. It’s the first time any of Australia’s financial authorities have so clearly addressed this topic (although many of their international peers have been doing so almost two years).

Big news here: Federal and state energy ministers will today be told by the Weatherill Labor government that it will “retake control” of South Australia’s fragile power network so blackouts “do not happen again”.