Media

According to a new report by Climate Energy Finance (CEF), “Gas-based production of iron and steel in SA is entirely uneconomic, with gas prices there some of the highest in the gas-producing world.” And as readers of MWM well know (even if Matt Canavan doesn’t), our high gas prices are caused by the gas oligopoly’s siphoning of gas into export markets. Read more

Tim Buckley, Director, Clean Energy Finance said: “With China playing strategically to win in all zero emissions industries of the future – and putting margin pressure on Australia’s refineries and smelters – Australia must act differently if we want to protect our industrial assets. A public private collaboration is needed. Leveraging our exceptionally strong Federal balance sheet to lower the cost of capital on renewables infrastructure can deliver low priced zero emissions firmed electricity sufficient to keep facilities like Tomago competitive.” Read more

There are only 24 hours left in the consultation process for staff at the country’s largest aluminium smelter to give feedback on plans for Tomago Aluminium’s future. Electricity accounts for more than 40 per cent of the facility’s operating costs… and as coal-fired and renewable energy prices rise, majority owner Rio Tinto says it doesn’t see a commercially viable future post 2028. While the federal and state governments consider bailouts, renewable energy organisations are calling for long-term solutions. Read more

Meanwhile, China is moving quickly. The latest report from the Climate Energy Finance think-tank calls China the world’s first “electrostate,” where industrial electrification is central to economic strategy. The country adds an average of 460GW of wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) per year, invests heavily in nuclear and battery storage, and is building a grid designed to handle industrial-scale electricity demand. Read more

Reminder for Australian climate commitments Tim Buckley, a director at think tank Climate Energy Finance, said Seoul’s intervention should give Australia pause for thought. “This should send a strong reminder to Australia as the second largest exporter of thermal coal behind only Indonesia, that our key trade partners are responding to climate science and their treaty obligations,” Mr Buckley said. Read more

The decision locks in the retirement of all 62 South Korean coal plants by 2040, including 22 units that had no phase-out schedule. South Korea relies on coal for more than 30 per cent of its electricity. Its 40-gigawatt coal fleet generates 60 per cent of its power-sector emissions – about 156 million tonnes of CO₂ a year. Kim Sung-hwan, South Korea’s minister of climate, energy and environment, said the pledge demonstrated the country’s commitment to “accelerating a just and clean energy transition”. Read more

A new report on transforming and decarbonising the Whyalla steelworks argues that South Australia should prioritise renewable energy and future […] Read more

Tim Buckley, founder of Clean Energy Finance, argues that Whyalla’s steelworks must shift quickly to renewable energy rather than rely […] Read more

South Korea has committed at the COP30 climate summit to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) and ending coal-fired power by 2040. This has major implications for coal-exporting Australia. South Korea pledged not to build any new unabated coal plants as part of its membership and reaffirmed its plan to shut down 40 existing coal-fired units by 2040. Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance and former MD of global investment bank Citigroup said: “South Korea is Australia’s third largest coal market and the world’s fourth largest thermal coal import nation, importing 91Mtpa in 2024. As such, it is brilliant to see South Korea join the Powering Past Coal Alliance at COP30, moving strongly to align with its Paris Agreement commitments to slash emissions. Read more

A Climate Energy Finance report warns taxpayers may face $2 billion in additional subsidies for gas supply and new infrastructure if BlueScope takes over the Whyalla Steelworks and pursues a gas-based sustainability plan. The group says there is no spare pipeline capacity, meaning a new 160-km pipeline, estimated at $500 million, would be required, alongside long-term subsidies due to Australia’s exceptionally high domestic gas prices. Co-author Tim Buckley argues this approach would lock in methane for decades, urging instead that similar public investment support renewable-powered green iron and electric arc furnace steelmaking, which he says is commercially viable and consistent with climate goals. Read more

Tim Buckley, the director of Climate Energy Finance, said the Korean announcement was “brilliant” news and showed Australia’s trading partners were “responding to climate science and their treaty obligations”. “Australia needs to pivot our export focus to low-emissions industries of the future, in particular exporting green iron and aluminium, critical minerals and lithium hydroxide to help our key trade partners jointly deliver on their decarbonisation objectives,” he said. Read more

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