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As experts such as Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley, along with independent MP Monique Ryan, pointed out in response, such technology has previously only been employed by Nazi Germany and South Africa, in desperate response to sanctions. It is inordinately expensive to do and is very emissions intensive. But what of the suggestion of mining and refining more oil? The first problem, says Greg Bourne, of the Climate Council, is that Australia does not have much in the way of proven oil reserves. He notes that when Canavan was the resources minister in the previous Coalition government, he issued exploration permits in the Great Australian Bight. Several oil majors took them up, then handed them back, because they were not viable. 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

The war had reinforced the need for energy independence and could drive strong growth in electrification and decarbonisation this year, said Tim Buckley, director of the Climate Energy Finance think tank in Sydney. “I would expect a surge in China’s battery and electric vehicle exports,” he added Read more

“Australia is [not] producing anywhere near enough of our own oil or diesel to actually sustain our economy. So I find it absolutely hypocritical … that the party of ‘small government’ is advocating for massive ongoing taxpayer subsidies to invest in new white elephants that would take at least a decade to be built,” Buckley says. “They do nothing for Australian energy security in the next decade, at a time when [electric vehicle] technology and battery technology is probably the most profound disruption globally in 2026 and we could be replacing $50 billion a year of annual diesel and oil imports with home grown, clean, low cost, deflationary Australian energy.” Read more

Investor Front Door was launched in September last year, aiming to streamline the approvals process and fast-track projects of national significance. Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance (CEF), told Carbon Pulse he was supportive of the initiative and hoped that it became permanent, noting “it’s taking a long time to get from announcement to substance”. “We’ve got to move at double the speed” to decarbonise, he said. Read more

Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Singapore aims to strengthen face-to-face ties and ensure energy security through cooperation with Asian partners. Australia, a major LNG exporter, relies on Singapore for refined fuels, while partners depend on Australian gas. Amid global disruption and high fossil fuel prices, collaboration is vital to reduce supply chain risks. Buckley stresses the importance of commitments from Japan and South Korea, and warns of Australia’s heavy reliance on imported fuel. Long term, he urges electrification and reducing diesel subsidies to cut dependence on imports. Read more

Buckley and others note that the technology has been around for a while, but is rarely used. Adolf Hitler adopted it in WWII because he had no other way to provide fuel for his warplanes, and cost and emissions were not top of mind. The apartheid government in South Africa developed it, too, in the 1970s, again for lack of other options, but it has proved to be an economic and environmental nightmare. It has not built a new plant for more than 40 years. The US looked at the technology after the 1970s fossil fuel crisis, but decided it was too expensive and too dirty to deploy at scale, although it toyed with the idea for military bases, where costs and emissions are not priorities. Read more

China now installs more wind turbines, solar panels and batteries than the rest of the world combined. It is the world’s largest producer of batteries and electric vehicles. It holds 95 per cent of global rare earth refining capacity, 90 per cent of battery anode production, and dominates virtually every other component of the clean energy supply chain. In December 2025 alone, 54 per cent of all truck sales in China were battery electric. This is long-term strategic planning and green energy statecraft paying dividends. Read more

According to Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley, schools could save between $20,000 and $30,000 each year on their electricity bills if they install 100-kilowatt-plus solar systems – and that’s before batteries or EV chargers. Buckley is a former Director of Energy Finance Studies at the nonprofit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Read more

Fuel prices have fallen by $0.06, but this may worsen supply pressures by increasing demand while supply remains constrained. Tim […] Read more

Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley said installing solar at all schools was a “massive opportunity” towards decarbonising the grid as installations would only take as long as two weeks. Read more

“Three years ago, Australia had more than 50% of the world’s lithium production, but not anymore,” Climate Energy Finance (CEF) director and former Citigroup managing director Tim Buckley told Paydirt. “This globally dominant position has been eroded significantly. By the start of 2026, domestic mines in China produce more than Australia and I tracked 15 other countries where China has invested in spodumene mines.” The CEF report found China’s investment in clean energy technology and its associated value chain has been pronounced, spending more than $US120 billion on upstream mining and processing projects since 2023 and more than $US220 billion on midstream and downstream cleantech manufacturing and renewables infrastructure in the same period. In the same period, Chinese investment into Australia has collapsed by 85%. Read more