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China lead at independent public interest think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF), Caroline Wang, said: “This sends a strong signal to the international community about China’s sustained commitment to addressing climate change in line with the Paris Agreement. China has not only built the largest and fastest growing renewable energy system in the world, but through its clean technology exports and investments in zero emissions energy infrastructure is helping other nations especially in the Global South to cut emissions and bolster energy security. Read more

“The target range for Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target has today been set at 62-70%. Clearly the government has gone more for practical deliverability than ambition and alignment with the climate science. Australia’s 43% emissions reduction by 2030 target requires an annual 1.7% cut nationally since 2005, but the step up required is better benchmarked against the 1.5% annual reduction of 29% delivered so far over 2005-2025. Read more

CEF’s new report finds that Australia’s largest taxpayer-funded fossil fuel subsidy – the diesel Fuel Tax Credit (FTC) Scheme – is entrenching dependence on imported high-emissions diesel to power mining operations, undermining climate targets, damaging productivity and draining tens of billions from the federal budget. Read more

As Energy Minister Bowen flags a carbon tariff on some imports, Australia well placed to lead development of a path towards a regional Asian Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Read more

Australia is well placed to lead development of a path towards a regional Asian Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism involving China, Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, as it bids to host COP31. China, as the world leader in decarbonisation and in steel, aluminum and cement, is key. Read more

The CEF analysis exposes damaging flow-on costs to the economy for which the Frontier modelling fails to account. Combined with Frontier’s extreme underestimation of the capital costs of building nuclear reactors, these costs accumulate to $4.3 – 5.2 trillion by 2050, 13-16 times the $331bn price tag for a nuclear Australia assumed by Frontier Economics. Read more

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A new report released today by independent public interest think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF), SUPERPOWERING-UP, with a foreword by former chief scientist Dr Alan Finkel, finds that failure to act now to electrify and decarbonise WA’s Pilbara region – Australia’s resources engine room and the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore – risks Australia’s biggest single future export opportunity: to potentially double our iron exports to $250bn pa by producing green iron. Read more

“It is ridiculous and beyond disappointing that the Australian Government in 2024 is releasing a long-term strategy that centres methane gas in the transition to net zero by 2050. The strategy released today is a massive misstep in the context of the strides the Albanese government has been making in pivoting to our economic future as renewables powered zero-emissions trade and investment leader. Read more

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The new analysis is the first to quantify and compare the capital allocations of the Big 4 banks to renewable energy and whole of economy decarbonisation. It reveals that only 7% of the Big 4 banks’ collective $385bn sustainable finance target (SFT) by 2030 is directed to financing renewable energy and hard to abate industries. The vast majority of their climate-related capital allocations – between 44% and 72% – channelled into the low hanging fruit of BAU ‘green buildings’ that meet minimum energy efficiency regulations. Read more