Media

The Whyalla Steelworks now stands at a critical juncture. The future pathway of the anchor industry of a small town in northern South Australia – and a critically important part of Australia’s industrial infrastructure – will define the economic security of the region. It will also be a test of the Australian government’s commitment to a Future Made in Australia (FMIA) and advancing its vision of a renewable energy powered re-industrialisation. In February 2025, the South Australian government took decisive action to force the Whyalla Steelworks into administration to secure the long-term future of the Steelworks, and that of the region, before the starvation of critical maintenance and sustaining capital under the former ownership would have terminal impacts. Read more

Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance highlights global developments at COP30, pointing to the critical importance of aligning global policy with climate science. Buckley notes that Europe has led the way with its robust emissions trading scheme and carbon border adjustment mechanism. Buckley contends Australia should draw inspiration from Europe, especially regarding carbon pricing and enhancing the Albanese government’s safeguard mechanism. Strengthening this mechanism is seen as essential to send a clear price signal for long-term investment and to align with international decarbonisation efforts. Read more

One of Australia’s steelworks facilities should be turned into a green iron and steel hub to lead the worldwide race to decarbonise metals. But using gas rather than renewable energy to fuel production could undermine its potential and cost the government billions of dollars in subsidies, a report warns. Clean Energy Finance released the advice about South Australia’s Whyalla Steelworks on Monday from a report endorsed by The Superpower Institute. Read more

Taxpayers will need to pay up to $2bn in additional subsidies if the federal and South Australian governments support an “entirely uneconomic” gas-backed plan to rescue the ailing Whyalla steelworks, according to new analysis by Climate Energy Finance. The warning comes ahead of a decision by administrators over the future of the steelworks, one of only two major integrated steel projects in Australia and the only local manufacturer of rail. Read more

Australia has more than $4 trillion in retirement savings but little of this finds its way to clean energy. Strategist Jeremy Cooper has an idea to fix this. Plus: The Super battery’s not so super moment, and a rush of new projects. Read more

A new report warns that a gas-led transition for the Whyalla Steelworks could benefit South Australian oil and gas giant Santos with billions of dollars in taxpayer funds. Think tank Climate Energy Finance warned a gas-powered transition for the Whyalla Steelworks, rather than a push towards green iron and steel, would “be a grave strategic misstep” for the state and nation in a new report. Read more

Locking in a gas-fired future at the Whyalla Steelworks would undermine Australia’s emerging green iron industry, according to a report by think tank Climate Energy Finance. BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL) is heading up an international consortium with Nippon Steel Corporation, India’s JSW Steel and South Korea’s POSCO, with the steelmakers eyeing Whyalla as a prospective location for future production of “lower-emissions iron” in Australia for both domestic and export markets. But it is Santos (ASX: STO), as gas supplier to Whyalla, that would be the principal beneficiary of government subsidies, the report found. Read more

One of Australia’s steelworks facilities should be turned into a green iron and steel hub to lead the worldwide race to decarbonise metals. But using gas rather than renewable energy to fuel production could undermine its potential and cost the government billions of dollars in subsidies, a report warns. Clean Energy Finance released the advice about South Australia’s Whyalla Steelworks on Monday from a report endorsed by The Superpower Institute. Read more

Taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $2 billion in extra subsidies for gas supply and infrastructure should the BlueScope consortium buy the ailing Whyalla steelworks, analysis by Climate Energy Finance has found. Read more

The National Party has abandoned Net Zero, attributing their decision to research done by their own party-affiliated think tank, the Page Research Centre. Read more

Energy analyst Tim Buckley, a former long-time managing director at Citigroup who now runs Climate Energy Finance, said modelling is “exceptionally biased”. He said the modelling assumes coal plants run almost constantly [91%], despite global coal plants operating at half that rate. Buckley also said modelling ignores that in Australia power prices go negative a fifth of the time due to solar. Read more

“The path forward to a more sustainable economic model is being driven by multiple factors that are increasingly aligned, irrespective of whether some cave into short-term vested interests thinking they can hold back the tide,” says Tim Buckley, founder of think-tank Climate Energy Finance. The WEO report wasn’t without controversy, however, with many commentators blasting the decision by the IEA to reintroduce a Current Policies scenario (in addition to a Stated Policies and Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario). Rumour has it the need to model what would happen if nothing changes was the result of US pressure. Read more