Media

Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance and a former MD of global investment bank Citigroup said: “The only thing the Coalition’s resurrection of its moribund joke of an energy policy will achieve is sending Australia back into the energy dark ages and creating massive sovereign risk for investors. Read more

Climate Capital Forum has welcomed the Australian Government’s new Launchpad funding program for early-stage climate and renewable energy startups, announced by ARENA alongside the ‘Australian Built 2026’ climate tech showcase in Canberra today. Read more

An open letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Read more

“It is a dark day for Whyalla with the decision to permanently close down the Steelworks’ coal-fired blast furnace impacting more than 500 jobs and hence the entire community of Whyalla. But putting bandaids on an antiquated, beyond end-of-life facility degraded for almost a decade under the watch of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance has proven to be simply a waste of taxpayer funds, a delusion that kicked the can down the road and deferred making hard and timely decisions in the best interests of the workforce, the community and taxpayers. Read more

A new report from independent think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF), Arc of Ambition, calls for a National Iron and Steel Decarbonisation Strategy, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and timely strategic investment in green onshore steelmaking as urgent national policy priorities. This would position regional Australia in global iron and steel supply chains, as the steel sector irreversibly transitions away from highly-polluting fossil fuel-based production. Read more

The QLD state budget released on 23 June forecasts a $6.2bn operating deficit in 2026-27, consistent with the mid-year fiscal and economic review (MYFER), a $3bn improvement from the net operating deficit forecast in the previous budget. The 2026-27 forecast would represent a marked improvement from the $8.8bn deficit estimated in the current 2025-26 period. Read more

New South Wales Treasurer Daniel Mookhey delivered the state budget for 2026-27 today. NSW’s operating position continues to improve under the Minns Labor Government since it was elected in 2023. From the $10.6bn deficit in 2022-23, the 2026-27 budget forecasts a $2.3bn deficit, returning to a $1.1bn surplus by 2027-28 and continuing in surplus through 2029-30. Read more

After substantial recent investment in accelerating Australia’s renewable energy transition and green industrialisation – principally via the Albanese Government’s flagship Future Made in Australia (FMIA) program – the 2026 Federal Budget released last night lacked any big-ticket new commitments to grow our national ambition to become a renewables superpower and zero-emissions trade and investment leader, and featured some reduction of previously announced funding. The Budget saves $1.3bn over 10 years from redirecting part of the $19.7bn 2024–25 Budget measure for FMIA, and $1.9bn is rightly cut from Hydrogen Headstart. Read more

A new report by independent think tank Climate Energy Finance tracking policy, investment and technology trends in the global green iron and steel industry finds decarbonisation and electrification of the industry is undergoing structural recalibration, from speculative optimism and green hydrogen hype to incremental, halting and sporadic progress at a pace misaligned with the climate science. Steel production accounts for 7-9% of global emissions. Read more

A new report by independent think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) tracking policy, investment and technology progress in the global green iron and steel industry warns that Australia’s opportunity to leverage its comparative advantages to lead in low-emissions iron and steel production is narrowing rapidly, and increasingly time limited. Read more

New analysis by independent think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) reveals Australia’s 18 major diesel consumers pocketed Fuel Tax Credit (FTC) refunds of $3.36bn in FY2025, as ordinary Australians now face a cost-of-living crisis driven by surging oil prices. The beneficiaries of the FTC Scheme are overwhelming big multinational miners extracting huge profits from our finite sovereign assets. Read more

CEF’s analysis shows Queensland’s reformed royalty structure – which applies tax rates in three tiers based on the coal price, topping out at 40% on prices exceeding $300/tonne – is expected to generate $5.4bn in 2025-26, with more than $1bn in additional windfall revenues likely over FY2025-26 under current prices elevated by the US/Israel war on Iran. This could be repeated over 2026-27 if elevated prices are maintained. The royalty scheme already delivered an all-time record $18.2bn to Queenslanders in FY22-23 alone. Read more