Australian Academy of Science: Full report here. Everybody should read it.
46
Australian Academy of Science: Nation faces climate doom
Primary Section
6
Ten principles for green power investment
Via Wood Mackenzie: We recommend the following action items for capital allocators: • With roughly US$800 billion in annual spend, it’s a growth story. Apply strict discipline when it comes to risk-return expectations. Be conservative on the terminal value assumptions. • Don’t ignore opportunities in the T&D sector. Returns could be better in T&D versus
61
The Coalition is a total energy imbecile
The Coalition is a total energy imbecile. And I am being kind. It’s a damn miracle that Australia’s decarbonisation of the grid is going so swimmingly because the Morrison Government and its Coalition predecessors are completely lost. After yesterday’s excellent news that Yallourn coal-fired power station is going to close in 2028, with seven whole
24
Coalition secret carbon tax puts Yallourn out of business
It has been coming for a long time now. Since 2014, the Coalition Government has allowed an evil gas export cartel to corner Australian energy markets by occupying and shipping offshore all of our gas. This drove local gas prices wild, from $3Gj to $20Gj, and because gas-fired power sets the marginal cost of electricity
31
Why China’s great technology plunge will smash Australia
Ever since Xi Jinping came to power in China, its economic narrative has shifted. What was considered an endless miracle of growth before his rise, transformed afterward into an endless critique of unbalanced growth. Xi launched major reforms from 2012 to 2015 that aimed for structural transformation in the Chinese economy from investment to consumption.
107
Should we get nuclear power?
The latest distraction thrown up by the struggling Morrison Government is a push for nuclear power. The Nats began it last week. Today we see more Coalition flunkies joining the push. The AFR has trolled the internet to find somebody else that supports the notion in Poland. At The Australian it’s Menzies Insitute doyen Nick
25
How will China deliver 2060 net zero emissions?
How will China hit 2060 net-zero emissions given it by far the world’s largest polluter? Goldman has a crack at it: China’s pledge to achieve net zero carbon by 2060 represents two-thirds of the c.48% of global emissions from countries that have pledged net zero… …as the country accounts for c.30% of global CO2 emissions
45
Europe moves to carbon tax Australian goods
For many years, as Australia agonised over its climate change transition and carbon price, forward-looking economists warned that it would not be long before it was imposed by other countries anyway. That day has come in the European Parliament: To raise global climate ambition and prevent ‘carbon leakage’, the EU must place a carbon price
44
Can farming be excluded and still reach 2050 net zero?
The Morrison Government’s absurd position on climate change is slowly evolving. Gone are the denials about climate change replaced by a motley crew of rent-seekers. We’ve shifted from the coal fixation to a “gas-led recovery” which is twenty years too late and won’t work anyway given the gas supply cartel on the east coast. Now
16
Capital installs mega-battery on ScoMo’s coal plant
Via Bloomie: Australia is planning another giant grid-scale battery as the global roll out of super-sized energy storage projects accelerates. The project in New South Wales-state, which will be three times larger than the current No. 1 battery in California, aims to store energy for the grid as Australia raises its share of renewable power.
4
ScoMo’s secret carbon tax kills gas power
Via Platts: The decline in gas-fired power generation to a 15-year low in eastern Australia’s national electricity market (NEM) in October-December may reflect the transition of country’s largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a lower carbon intensive sector. But it was not what the Australian government had in mind when it unveiled its
24
Australia last on zero-emissions scoreboard
Via the Bloomberg G20 Zero-carbon policy scoreboard: Governments around the world are considering how best to drive companies and consumers to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions with a view to avoiding catastrophic climate change. Many have begun to implement policies to achieve their goals, including setting a growing number of ‘net-zero’ targets. But which policies have been
13
Can Australia hit carbon net-neutral by 2050?
I put it to you that this is the major reason that Scotty from Marketing is level pegging with a hapless and treasonous Labor today. Via The Australian: Scott Morrison says his goal is to reach net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible, preferably by 2050, but has declared his government will not “tax
44
Australia’s renewable outlook is better than Biden’s
The radicalised ABC was in foment over the weekend that the Biden Administration is about to ramp pressure on Australia to accelerate energy transformation: Pressure is increasing on Australia to toughen up its emissions reduction policies, as US President Joe Biden launches what’s been described as an “assault on climate change.” President Biden has signed
8
Will ScoMo lift power prices via gas or coal subsidies?
It’s a tricky question. Which uneconomic, species threatening fuel will you subsidise to build a white elephant power plant? Scott Morrison’s most senior ministers are split over subsidising a new coal-fired power station, after Josh Frydenberg rejected Nationals demands for the government to support a “modern” plant in the NSW Hunter Valley. The Treasurer’s opposition
54
Extreme fast-charging EV batteries emerge
Via The Guardian: Batteries capable of fully charging in five minutes have been produced in a factory for the first time, marking a significant step towards electric cars becoming as fast to charge as filling up petrol or diesel vehicles. Electric vehicles are a vital part of action to tackle the climate crisis but running
47
The death of coal comes to Asia
Via the AFR: Policy changes flagged by politicians and government departments in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and a full moratorium on new coal plants in the Philippines, may result in just 25 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-power projects getting built this year. That is an 80 per cent reduction from the 125GW planned five years ago,
28
2020 was Australia’s fourth hottest year on record
The BOM has released its Annual Climate Statement for 2020, headlining the sobering fact that 2020 was the fourth-warmest year on record, with temperature now 1.15 °C above the 1961–1990 average. Senior Climatologist Dr Lynette Bettio, said that: “The mean temperature for the 10 years from 2011 to 2020 was the highest on record, at
19
WoodMac: LNG doomed!
Via Oilprice: …if governments decide to double down on their climate change targets and start aiming for the more ambitious 2-degree scenario under the Paris Agreement, LNG growth will suffer. The so-called 2-degree scenario refers to efforts aimed at curbing the rise in average global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. A less realistic scenario is
9
Chinese house prices slip-slide away
This is potentially a very big story for 2021. Chinese house prices are slip-sliding away. In November they barely grew at just 0.1% and 4% year on year: 46 of 70 major cities are now either stalled or falling: Top tiers are cooked. There is still some growth lower down: The raw data: Needless
5
Energy Quest entirely wrong on LNG
There is a reason that Energy Quest gets all of the research from the gas cartel. Today it blasts out complete economic drivel on price controls: “This kind of policy is more common in third-world countries. Given that most LNG is sold at oil-linked prices, which are generally higher than oil-linked prices, this could require
12
Grattan: Climate change is a health disaster for Australia
Stephen Duckett, Health Program Director for the Grattan Institute, has released a new report explaining how climate change poses a health disaster for Australia. Below is the Overview of the report alongside key charts and figures: Australia is about 1.5oC warmer than it was a hundred years ago. This warming is harming the health and
12
ACCC backs gas price controls
It’s taken me years to beat sense into the ACCC. It began to turn a few years ago but now it’s 100% on board. At The Australian: The competition regulator and major gas buyers say Australia’s big east coast LNG exporters have nothing to fear from the potential introduction of formal price controls, arguing the
41
How can China reach its net zero carbon pledge?
Via Bloomberg: China’s recent pledge to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 has surprised the world. As the world’s largest carbon emitter and energy consumer, China’s yet-unknown pathway to carbon neutrality is certain to disrupt the globe’s energy economy. This white paper examines how accelerated electrification of final energy use in sectors such as industry and
39
World waiting for “suicidal” Australia to wake up on climate
Via Domain: The world is waiting for a “suicidal” Australia to reverse its stance on climate change, says one of the world’s most senior diplomats. Christiana Figueres, who was executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through the Paris Agreement talks, said the world expected more from Australia in the lead-up