Media

BP returns to fossil fuels – New CEO scraps most clean energy plans. Failed green transition – Former CEO Bernard Looney tried to shift BP towards renewables, now consigned to history.  The world is investing twice as much in clean energy as in fossil fuels, with China leading the charge. Read more

Building on the federal government’s $2 billiion Aluminium Production Tax Credit announcement to decarbonise the energy demand of the nation’s aluminium smelters – the largest source of emissions in the aluminium supply chain – the $1bn Green Iron Investment Fund leverages strategic public capital to crowd in private investment into value-added green iron projects. Comparatively, iron is the largest source of emissions in the steel value chain, with blast furnaces accounting for up to 87% of traditional, coal-based steel emissions. Read more

Tim shared some good news from Canberra with the Climate Capital Forum, joining a delegation to meet with upper and lower house politicians across the spectrum and spread a positive message on the need for the energy transition and reindustrialisation. Read more

Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance joined Melinda James this morning on Illawarra Breakfast on ABC Illawarra to discuss the latest developments in the steel industry and green energy. Tune in for insights! Tim’s exclusive interview can be heard at this link from 2:15:00 to 2:23:35” Read more

The state government embraced that plan and promised $600 million to fund a 250 MW green hydrogen electrolyser and a 200 MW hydrogen power plant – both among the largest in the world – to support the steelworks, other customers, and the state’s own plans to reach 100 per cent net renewables by 2027. That Hydrogen Jobs Plan is now likely delayed, and its future uncertain, given the developments around the steelworks. Malinauskas, who has visited Whyalla recently and is reportedly on the way again on Wednesday, has refused to commit to those funds because of the financial uncertainty. Read more

Gupta is being criminally prosecuted in the UK for failing to file accounts for scores of his businesses. GFG Alliance has also been under investigation from the country’s Serious Fraud Office for nearly four years. Gupta is defending himself against these charges and GFG denies any wrongdoing. Gupta said last week GFG had struck a deal with creditors that would entail selling a coal mine in NSW and using the funds to settle its debts and invest in Whyalla, which has previously propped up other parts of GFG’s global operations. Read more

In a joint statement federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Future Made in Australia Minister Tim Ayres and Resources Minister Madeleine King said benefits would flow to local workers, industries and communities, creating “well-paid local jobs” while also “strengthening economic resilience” and decarbonising industries. Read more

Trump has declared an “energy emergency”, scrapped both environmental restrictions on oil and gas exploration and permits for wind farms, all to the benefit of an oil and gas industry that spent $US219m installing his government. So what is the impact? When Trump last abandoned the Paris Accord, many observers argued they would rather have a recalcitrant US alone outside the tent rather than wrecking things within. The UN treaty that drives the global climate response demands consensus in key votes. Having the US side with fossil states such as Russia and Saudi Arabia might have gummed up a cumbersome process even further. Read more

Under the plan, METI will evaluate submissions by automakers on their low-emission steel procurement and allocate subsidies based on the percentage of green steel being used, according to Matt Pollard, an analyst at clean energy consultancy Climate Energy Finance. “In the broader context, it is important for METI to publicly release the carbon accounting methodologies, green product definitions and emission thresholds it will use to determine products and producers that will benefit from the models approved under the new subsidy scheme,” Pollard said. Put simply, how all this works is likely to determine whether it is actually successful. Read more

For Beijing, there is a persistent worry that Chinese companies could find themselves shut out of the Australian market as business and economic matters increasingly become entangled with security issues. And those concerns intensified on Tuesday, after Albanese and Trump spoke about the possibility of the US granting Australia an exemption to its newly announced 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. Read more

Woodside Energy’s CEO Meg O’Neill sounded a self-serving alarm last week about the risks for Australia of the US’s new administration’s “drill baby drill” mantra, concluding that the ever-looming east coast gas supply shortage demands urgent government actions to accelerate gas exploration and development. Read more

Australia’s energy transition is progressing well, with renewable energy accounting for 46% of total energy by the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). This places us more than halfway to our target of 82% renewable energy by 2030, with six years to go. Read more