The director of Climate Energy Finance, Tim Buckley, says these conglomerates are profiteering from the war with the blessing of US President Donald Trump.
The US is self-sufficient in oil and gas and is a net exporter. Trump boasted in a social media post: “The United States is the largest oil producer in the world by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.”
Buckley argues it is time for Australia to protect itself from these recurring oil shocks. He suggests Chalmers end the $11-billion-a-year subsidy on imported diesel in Australia, which undermines our energy security, independence and climate ambitions.
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China has invested over $120B since 2023 in global critical minerals, strengthening its dominance in clean energy supply chains and processing. Through infrastructure-for-resources deals—especially in Africa—China secures long-term supply while expanding into local processing. These investments raise concerns over debt burdens, limited local economic benefits, and growing Chinese control over strategic resources.
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A new report titled ‘ Raw Power China locks in global dominance of critical minerals and metals with US$120bn outbound investment surge,‘ released by the Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance, highlights a major shift in global industrial strategy driven by Chinese companies.
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As Climate Energy Finance’s latest report out this week, Raw Power, highlights: the world’s overwhelming decarbonisation leader, China, is rolling out a structural, state-directed strategy to secure dominance of global supply chains underpinning the emerging zero emissions world economy.
Since 2023, Climate Energy Finance has tracked over $US120 billion in global investments and projects by Chinese firms into resource mining and upstream processing, including critical metals to the energy transformation in lithium, nickel, copper, high-grade iron ore, and bauxite, as well as rare earths and minerals for national security interests.
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The United States’ recent actions in Venezuela and Iran, two of China’s key oil suppliers, have also influenced its outlook, said Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance. “Countries [including China] logically will be focused on energy independence,” he said. Here’s what China’s 15th five-year plan, mapping its economic development between 2026-2030, says about its plans to reduce carbon emissions and transition to green energy.
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China has invested over $120 billion in overseas mining and mineral processing projects since 2023, Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) has reported. The investments primarily targeted lithium, copper, nickel and rare earths, critical minerals essential for clean energy and decarbonization technologies. However, whereas these investments have helped boost clean energy industries in developing countries, they have raised serious concerns, including debt risks.
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A new Climate Energy Finance report shows the scale of the push. Since 2023, China has committed more than US$120 billion in outbound investment across critical minerals and metals. From lithium in Zimbabwe to nickel processing in Indonesia and iron ore infrastructure in Guinea, Chinese capital is moving with deliberate intent across the Global South. The aim is not simply to secure raw materials. It is to lock in the feedstock, processing capacity, and industrial partnerships needed for batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, and green industrial commodities.
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Australia’s electricity regulator, as reported by ABC Illawarra, has announced a lower default market offer, reducing benchmark power prices as […]
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A ‘dig-and ship’ approach to mining and lack of domestic manufacturing has left Australia far too exposed to China, a new report warns.
The report from independent think-tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) examines China’s move to dominate key minerals markets and reduce supply risks; click here to read the full report.
The report’s lead author is Tim Buckley, CEF Director and former managing director of global investment bank Citigroup.
“Australia is sitting on some of the world’s most strategically valuable resources at precisely the moment the global economy is re-organising itself around them but sitting on them is all we are doing,” he says.
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China has invested over $120bn in overseas mining and mineral processing projects since 2023, according to a new report from the Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF).
The report indicates that these investments, primarily in lithium, rare earths, nickel, and other critical minerals for clean energy technologies, have contributed to the expansion of clean energy industries in developing countries.
Chinese firms are engaging with host governments to develop processing facilities and related infrastructure, such as ports, in exchange for long-term resource access and agreements to purchase output from energy projects.
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Tim Buckley, energy analyst and director of the think tank Climate Energy Finance, can see an argument for restricting EV subsidies to cheaper models, but is appalled at reports the treasurer is backpedalling from a proposal to limit diesel subsidies used by big miners. Buckley, alongside climate groups and Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Mining, has been calling for the government to cap subsidies on diesel used by big mining companies and return the saved revenue to the same businesses to help them electrify their operations. His analysis shows the largest beneficiary of the fuel tax rebate has been BHP followed by Rio Tinto.
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