We conduct public interest financial analysis on the most profound economic transformation since the industrial revolution: the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
About
Climate Energy Finance (CEF) is a think tank established in 2022 that works probono in the public interest to accelerate decarbonisation. We conduct research and analyses on global financial issues related to the global energy transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, as well as the implications for the Australian economy, with a key focus on the threats and opportunities for Australian investments and exports. Read more
Our Work
AGL | CEF NEWS UPDATES | CEF SERIES ON CRITICAL MINERALS | China | Coal/electricity/electrification | Critical minerals | Decarbonisation | Energy Crisis | Finance Sector & Emissions | Green Iron | Hydrogen | India & Adani | Monthly China Energy Updates | Nuclear | Submissions | Taxes & subsidies | US IRA/ NZIA et al |
REPORT | GREEN CAPITAL TSUNAMI: China’s >$100 billion outbound cleantech investment since 2023 turbocharges global energy transition
CEF’s news report shows that a green capital tsunami of investments from China into cleantech around the world is speeding decarbonisation, but Australia, with its opaque foreign investment regime, is missing out, as investment hit a multidecade low last year, forgoing its massive opportunity to co-invest with China in clean energy-powered onshore value-adding, including green iron. Read more
MONTHLY CHINA ENERGY UPDATE | Increasing Electricity Demand Showcasing China’s Economic Resilience
During the first 8 months of 2024, China added 210GW of new capacity to the grid, a 14% y-o-y increase. August alone saw China add 25.1GW of new capacity additions. From January to August 2024, China spent RMB333bn (US$47bn) on power grid projects, a 19% y-o-y increase. In August alone, China invested RMB79bn (US$11bn) in the power grid. From January to August in 2024, China’s electricity demand increased by 7% y-o-y, reaching 6,456TWh. This is a sign of China’s continued economic resilience and as a result of the country’s continuous electrification-of-everything strategy. CEF expects China’s electricity demand to continue to climb in the coming decade. Read more
Media
AGL China Coal Critical minerals Decarbonisation Electricity/electrification Energy crisis Finance Sector & Emissions Green Iron/Steel Hydrogen India & Adani Nuclear offshore wind Renewables Taxes and subsidies TIM BUCKLEY ON THE SPARK CLUB PODCAST US IRA/EU NZIA et al
New Energy World | How Australia Plans for Massive Australian Renewable Energy Hub
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CEF published a major report on the electrification and decarbonisation of the Pilbara in August 2024, that argued that AREH could be a key part of the solution. Tim Buckley and colleague CEF Net Zero Transformation Analyst Matt Pollard, believe that AREH has the potential to act as a model for the Pilbara in how private enterprise can effectively collaborate with state and federal governments to accelerate large-scale renewable energy projects. ‘Renewable energy hubs at the scale of AREH can provide significant cost advantages over distributed, smaller-scale renewable energy projects,’ they say. Read more
Australia’s clean power growth tops global leaderboard
PV Magazine
Responding to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook which tracks an ‘unprecedented growth in renewables’ and says fossil fuels will peak before 2030, Tim Buckley said: “The fossil fuel era is drawing to an inevitable close. Our future prosperity depends on hastening our energy transition and repositioning as a value-adding trade and investment leader.” “We should be deploying our solar and wind to process our energy transition materials like green iron and the critical minerals essential for cleantech onshore pre-export.” Read more
Solar and batteries steal the show, but world needs more renewables quickly to meet 1.5°C target
Renew Economy
Tim Buckley, from Climate Energy Finance, says the IEA report is still likely to be underestimating the deployment of renewables. “Each year the IEA upgrades their renewable energy estimates, having underestimated the deflation of solar and BESS, and underestimating the technology improvements in cleantech as well – wind, solar, BESS and EVs,” Buckley says. “As such, the IEA’s expectation of peaks in all types of fossil fuel energy types is likely still too conservative. This is great news, as clearly global scientists have likewise underestimated the compounding impacts of climate change. “China clearly leads the world in both the manufacturing, domestic installation and export of all cleantech aspects. Read more
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