Analysis

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The return of Trump: What does it mean for Australia’s 2035 target?

Donald Trump’s decisive election win has given him a mandate to enact sweeping policy changes, including in the energy sector, potentially altering the US’s energy landscape. His proposals, which include halting offshore wind projects, withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and dismantling the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), could have a knock-on effect across the globe, as countries try to navigate a path towards net zero. So, what are his policies, and what do they mean for Australia’s own emission reduction targets? We take a look.

BY Rhys Thomas & Tom Monaghan Nov 14 2024

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A farewell to UK coal

While Australia is still grappling with the timetable for closure of its coal-fired power stations and how best to manage the energy transition, the UK firmly set its sights on October this year as the right time for all coal to exit its grid a few years ago. Now its last operating coal-fired plant – Ratcliffe-on-Soar – has already taken delivery of its last coal and will cease generating at the end of this month. We take a look at the closure and the UK’s move away from coal.

BY Carl Kitchen & Tom Monaghan Sep 12 2024

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Retail protection reviews – A view from the frontline

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and the Essential Services Commission (ESC) have released separate papers to review and consult on changes to their respective regulation around payment difficulty. Many elements of the proposed changes focus on the interactions between an energy retailer’s call-centre and their hardship customers, we visited one of these call centres to understand how these frameworks are implemented in practice. Drawing on this experience, we take a look at the reviews that are underway.

BY Braeden Keen Aug 01 2024

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Green certification key to Government’s climate ambitions

The energy transition is creating surging corporate demand, both domestically and internationally, for renewable electricity. But with growing scrutiny towards greenwashing, it is critical all green electricity claims are verifiable and credible. The Federal Government has designed a policy to perform this function but in recent months the timing of its implementation has come under some doubt. We take a closer look.

BY Rhys Thomas Jun 27 2024

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EPBC Act: Does the Government have its finger on a climate trigger?

The Government’s Nature Positive Plan Reform has reignited the debate on whether Australia should add a climate trigger into our environmental protection laws. This was sparked after the Government announced stage three of the Nature Positive Plan would be focusing on “climate-related reforms, including the interaction between environment and climate laws.” So, what is a climate trigger and why is it such a contentious issue? We take a closer look.

BY Tom Monaghan Jun 06 2024

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National Energy Performance Strategy: What’s In it?

On 5 April, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water released the National Energy Performance Strategy. The strategy is intended to provide a long-term framework to manage energy demand, “so our community can enjoy the economy, climate and health benefits of improved energy performance”. It also designed to contribute to Australia meeting its legislated emissions reduction and renewable energy targets. We take a look at what is included in the strategy.

BY Tom Monaghan Apr 18 2024

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Reviewing the Reviews, Part II

The first meeting of the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council (ECMC) for 2024 brought to the fore the extent of change underway in the energy sector. The ECMC’s communique hints at the breadth of reviews and assessments into the energy sector and operations of the National Electricity Market (NEM). It's part of a now long-established pattern. For well over a decade, energy has been at the forefront of policy developments, largely because of the significant changes to our grid. Along with those changes has come a heightened political involvement. With political interest has come a myriad of reviews, assessments and interventions to make the NEM “fit for purpose”. We take a look at the latest ECMC work and the extent of reviews underway.

BY Carl Kitchen Mar 07 2024

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Fuel efficiency standards: Driving emission reductions in transport

The release of the Federal Government’s preferred option for an Australian fuel efficiency standard has quickly fallen into another version of the so-called climate wars while also being firmly couched as a ‘cost of living’ and ‘loss of vehicle choice’ issue. The Government’s proposal is for an “ambitious but achievable” standard that would allow Australia to catch up to markets like the US.

BY Carl Kitchen Feb 29 2024

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Internal Carbon Pricing – on the pathway to net-zero or just another sidetrack?

Leading into the last federal election, the then Labor opposition pledged no economy-wide carbon price under its leadership, reflecting the continued vexed nature of climate policy in Australia. Since then the Federal Labor Government has maintained its promise and is pursuing emissions reductions through targeted sectoral reforms. In this environment, many businesses have started setting their own internal carbon price based around various government decarbonisation policies. Now, under new reforms being proposed by Treasury, these businesses will be required to disclose their internal carbon price.

BY Rhys Thomas Feb 29 2024

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Green schemes: What are they and how are they causing greater inequality?

For the past two decades, state and federal governments have introduced various policies aimed at incentivising households and businesses to be more energy efficient and to support renewable technologies, which are often referred to as ‘green schemes’ or ‘environmental schemes’. While well intentioned, the cost of these schemes are typically passed onto consumers through electricity bills, impacting energy affordability for some users.

BY Tom Monaghan Feb 22 2024

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Port of Hastings decision – what does it mean for electricity planning?

Last month, the Federal Government blocked progress of the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal – Victoria’s flagship offshore wind support project – on the grounds it posed “clearly unacceptable” risks to biodiversity in the Westernport Bay region. The impact of this decision was magnified by the Victorian Government reportedly being unaware that this ruling was coming. We untangle the regulatory process that led to this decision and consider what it means for energy transition planning.

BY Rhys Thomas Feb 08 2024

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Expanded National CIS: What are the pros and cons?

The expanded Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) announced last week aims to bring forward 32GW of generation investment - 9GW dispatchable capacity and 23GW variable renewable capacity - with the costs of the scheme funded by the Federal Government. It can be expected to encourage new capacity which will represent a significant injection of renewables into a grid with ongoing system constraints so does not come without some risks. We take a look at some of the pros and cons.

BY David Feeney Nov 30 2023

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SMR Cancellation: Major setback or hiccup?

The cancellation of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) in Idaho which was expected to be the first commercial development of small modular reactor (SMR) technology in the US has been labelled a major setback for this nascent nuclear technology. NuScale’s design was seen as being at the forefront for commercialisation of SMR plant. So what happened? We take a look.

BY Carl Kitchen Nov 16 2023

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Decarbonising aviation – in it for the long haul

Until recently, the aviation sector has avoided policymaker attention – at least as far as carbon reduction policy goes. However, this has started to change with the Federal Government’s recent publication of an Aviation Green Paper, which attempts to navigate the foggy skies of how to align aviation with a net-zero by 2050 future. So what are some of the options, and challenges, for aviation decarbonisation? Here we take a look.

BY Rhys Thomas Sep 28 2023

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Rushing to the finish line: Can we clear the hurdles on the way to 100% smart meters by 2030?

Last month, a report by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) recommended that the deployment of smart meters across the National Electricity Market (excluding Victoria) should be accelerated so we achieve 100 per cent uptake among small customers by 2030. The AEMC argues that achieving a critical mass of smart meter deployment in a far timelier manner will deliver greater benefits for customers and support the wider decarbonisation of the energy market. But what are the hurdles that will need to be cleared on the way to the finish line? We take a look.

BY Braeden Keen Sep 21 2023

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Nuclear power for Australia: A potted history

Nuclear power has re-emerged as part of our energy debate with the Federal Opposition proposing a coal-to-nuclear transition. While it does wax and wane a look back at the political arguments around nuclear power show that it has never been too far from mainstream arguments about and resurfaces from time-to-time with similar themes and arguments. Most recently, and like many things relating to energy, it can also quickly become enmeshed in the so-called “culture wars”.

BY Carl Kitchen Aug 31 2023

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The risk of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms have long been flagged as part of carbon-reduction schemes around the world. While some policymakers argue that a border tariff is necessary to support a truly decarbonized economy and prevent “carbon leakage”, trading partners logically identify these charges as the imposition of carbon pricing on their domestic economies by stealth. Australia has now joined other countries in considering the suitability of a border mechanism as part of its climate approach. We take a look at carbon border tariffs emerging around the world, their rationale and their impacts on free trade.

BY Mitchell Cutting Aug 24 2023

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The 82 per cent national renewable energy target – where did it come from and how can we get there?

In recent weeks there has been a wave of headlines about Australia’s energy transition – while some preached opportunity, others raised caution. Of particular interest to those inside the energy beltway was whether Australia can reach 82 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2030. In this article, we do a deep dive into how this figure and what obstacles must be overcome for Australia to achieve it.

BY Rhys Thomas Aug 17 2023

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Productivity Commission offers alternative view of the IRA

Almost 12 months since it was passed by the US Congress, the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has sent shockwaves globally and in turn prompted debate on how Australia should respond. Of note in public commentary was the latest Trade and Assistance Review, released last month by the Productivity Commission which argues that an attempt by Australia to adopt countervailing policy responses would be a step in the wrong direction. We take a closer look at the Productivity Commission's views on how Australia should be responding to the IRA.

BY Braeden Keen Aug 17 2023

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Coal or no coal, all-electric homes are better for the environment

Late last week, the Victorian Government announced a ban on gas connections to new residential homes from 2024. The effect of this policy is that new homes will be required to go all-electric. Even though this is a relatively small step in Victoria’s ambition to electrify all households, it nonetheless triggered a wide range of reactions, including debate on the impact it might have on the state’s carbon emissions. We take a closer look at these claims and clear up some of the misconceptions about electrified homes.

BY Rhys Thomas Aug 03 2023

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