This last weekend, US President Biden and PM Albanese agreed a landmark compact for bilateral cooperation on climate and energy, which will massively boost inbound investment and elevate Australia’s potential to lead the world in production of value-added critical minerals, green hydrogen and materials key to the energy transition, as Tim Buckley explains. Read more

With Chevron’s giant CCS plant operating at a third of capacity, Tim Buckley says the run rates at Gorgon undermine the industry’s push for carbon capture and storage as a viable solution for decarbonisation. Read more

“We’ve now got this massive policy and fiscal stimulus on anything to do with decarbonisation. In some respects, it’s a response to the geopolitics of China American trade relations,” Tim Buckley says. Read more

Tim Buckley says he is frustrated by the pragmatic gradualism of the Albanese Government a year into its term.“It lacks the ambition the climate science dictates, and has meant an insufficient policy and fiscal response to the US IRA – this is a real threat, pulling capital investment away from Australia into the US.” Tim says if Australia fails to use its status as one of America’s free trade partners, others like South Korea “will, with both hands, and we will remain the dig-and-ship nation of old.“ On the positive side the Safeguard Mechanism’s “credible, rising price on carbon emissions is exactly the right policy signal finance and corporates need to have the clarity to plan and invest with.” Read more

Tim Buckley said Chevron’s admissions that its giant Gorgon CCS capacity is operating at only one third capacity were an indictment on the technology. Tim said most of the carbon sequestration that took place across the globe was aimed at extracting more oil and gas from reservoirs. Read more

In this story across multiple mastheads via AAP, Tim Buckley said the idea, promoted by Resources Minister Madeleine King at the APPEA Summit, that Australia could reach net zero emissions and help our trade partners reach net zero by investing in new gas projects was “ludicrous”. He said it was positive further taxpayer-funded subsidies were not being offered for carbon capture and storage projects, with the government instead saying the polluter must pay. Read more

Tim Buckley comments on the PRRT changes in the budget: “This looks very pedestrian relative to the LNG export industry’s windfall war-profiteering and oversized contribution to Australian domestic energy price hyperinflation. The far too modest PRRT reforms in this budget are a missed opportunity to deliver a substantial social dividend to the Australian people, limiting the government’s capacity to fund critically urgent social and energy transition programs, and undercutting the government’s claims to fiscal balance and responsibility.” Read more

Refuting Bob Katter’s claims that RE in Australia supports China because much of the supply of solar panels and wind turbines is made there, Tim Buckley said this ignored how Australian mining also produced half of the world’s supply of lithium used for solar power, as well as other critical metals and minerals like copper, nickel and cobalt. Read more

Tim Buckley on the budget’s support for the Capacity Investment Mechanism replacing the LNP’s Coalkeeper: ““With the inevitable acceleration of coal-fired power plant closures, and the ongoing delays to the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro storage project, this will play a critical role of crowding-in private capital for accelerated battery storage investments to complement the rapid renewable energy capacity buildout of the states-led renewable energy zones.” Read more

Tim Buckley in an extended interview on the budget, reflecting on the tokenistic changes to the PRRT that fail to adequately tax LNG exporters’ superprofits, the critically important establishment of the Net Zero Authority, much-needed energy bill relief measures and more. Read more

Tim Buckley: “$4 billion in new funding to make Australia a renewable energy superpower, takes total funding to $40 billion including the previously announced programs,” but this is well below the cumulative $100 billion of public capital Climate Energy Finance considers is required to crowd-in $200-300 billion of private capital investment to position Australia as a global leader in energy transition and ensure our energy security and independence.” Read more

Our detailed Federal Budget 2023 wrap: we find that overall it’s sensible and measured, with serious attention to fiscal repair and capacity building. The energy bill relief is essential, there is strong decarbonisation progress – including the Net Zero Authority, $2bn for green hydrogen and home and business electrification packages – but more funding is needed to supercharge the transition. The marginal reforms to the PRRT are a case of serious policy underreach, and the lack of attention to corporate tax and diesel rebate reform are disappointing. Read more