Media

Highlights – CEF’s field trip to China CATL, XCMG and China Hongqiao Group, Asian Carbon markets progress; Main Story – My keynote presentation this week to the RE Construction Summit; Lowlights – The WA by-election last week Read more

Tim takes us from his early career in financial research and forensic company analysis to carbon pricing, corporate governance, superannuation, ESG, Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, China’s manufacturing scale, green steel, batteries, data centres and Australia’s opportunity to become a clean-energy powerhouse. This is a conversation about how capital actually moves, why incentives matter, why governance matters and why the energy transition will ultimately be shaped by economics as much as engineering. Read more

In this episode, Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance, explores Australia’s opportunity to become a global leader in green iron and green steel. The discussion examines how decarbonising steel production could strengthen Australia’s economic competitiveness, create new export opportunities, and support the transition to a low-emissions future. The conversation also highlights the policy, investment and technology changes needed to position Australia at the forefront of the global green metals industry. Read more

Main Story – Our new CEF Report: Arc of Ambition: Decarbonising and Safeguarding Australia’s Steel Industry Highlights – ‘Message to the haters’ AFR Headline Lowlights – China solar capacity installs in 1HCY2026 down Read more

Tim Buckley joined the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Renewable Energy Council Asia-Pacific (RECAP) delegation to China. Read more

Highlights – ACCELERATING RENEWABLES DRIVES NEM ELECTRICITY PRICE DEFLATION Amazing to see electricity price DEFLATION being delivered in Australia in the middle of the latest fossil fuel war, with its resulting hyperinflation of global fossil fuel prices. The Australian Energy Regulator has released its final Default Market Offer (DMO) starting 1 July 2026. Residential flat rate standing offer prices will fall by between 3-5% in NSW and by 7.2% in South East Queensland compared to last year, while South Australian households will have a modest increase of 1.4%. Small businesses will see reductions across all three regions, with prices decreasing by 7-12% in South Australia, 10-14% in South East Queensland, and 9.0-21% in NSW. Earlier this week the Essential Services Commission delivered a further reduction in the Victorian Default Offer; FY2026–27 will be on average 5% lower than last year for households. For small businesses the price is down on average 6%. A major contributing factor is the record high investments into clean energy by Australia’s public – with over 400k home battery installs totalling >11GWh achieved in just 11 months, supporting the 3GW pa of rooftop solar installs. Read more

Tim Buckley from Climate and Energy Finance joins to discuss the good, bad and the ugly from the federal budget, how to fix the Capacity Investment Scheme, and other news. Read more

Main Story: Our Clean Energy Finance Report: Green Metal Statecraft: Policy, Investment and Technology Trends in the Green Iron Evolution Highlights – The SEC Sydney conference – Fuel Tax Credit reform – The Cheaper Home Batteries Program and Accelerating capital deployments – More RE share => lower energy prices Lowlights – The Albanese government has ruled out a 25% LNG export levy, very disappointing – We did secure an East Coast Gas reservation of 20% of production from 1 July 2027. Good and bad, it helps reduce energy cost inflation for sure, but it also means the hurdle for electrification and decarbonisation is harder, given methane is cheaper. Read more

Highlights The Business Leaders Forum at Boao, China – China’s stated position remains one of full commitment to electrification and decarbonisation. PRRT Reform – The ACTU continues to call for a flat 25% tax on Australian LNG to replace the The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax, with the objective of capturing windfall profits and generating tax revenues of up to $10bn to fund energy poverty relief across Australia. Accelerating Capital Deployments – Treasurer Chalmers’ Single Front Door pilot is now operational. Main Story – CEF Op-Ed in The Energy: Lessons for Australia from the Global Energy Crisis Read more

Highlights – Draft AER Default Market Offer Brilliant to see the Australian Energy Regulator has today flagged draft default market offer (DMO) electricity pricing down ⬇️ 1% to ⏬ 10% for residential consumers, and between ⬇️ 8% to ⏬ 21% for small business consumers The DMO sets an efficiently priced safety-net for households and small businesses on standing offer electricity plans and acts as a reference price to help consumers compare market offers. This is the draft ruling, with the final ruling released May 2026 for effect for the 12 months starting 1 July 2026. This is consistent with Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)’s quarterly energy dynamics highlighting Australia hit a record high 51% RenewableEnergy share in the 4QCY2025, and wholesale electricity prices fell by >40% yoy as a result. Read more

The war in the Middle East has sent Australia’s fuel prices soaring. And people are worried that if the battle between the US-Israel and Iran continues for another month – Australia may have to begin rationing fuel. Already, drivers are panic buying, stockpiling and some country petrol stations are running dry. Global oil supplies are under threat as Iran attacks tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Read more

Highlights The Clean Energy Council’s 4Q2025 report shows a rebound in large-scale renewable and storage investment across Australia, with record commissioning and strong financial activity. Five generation projects (1.2 GW) and five storage projects (1.1 GW) reached FID, while 2.1 GW of generation and 1.9 GW / 4.9 GWh of storage became operational, surpassing Q3 2025 records. The pipeline remains strong with 81 generation (13 GW) and 75 storage projects (13 GW / 35 GWh) under construction or financially committed. NSW awarded six major 8-hour battery contracts, including the 300 MW / 3,500 MWh Great Western BESS, and launched additional tenders to expand firmed renewables and accelerate zero-emissions generation. Read more