Our work

The currently largely ineffectual federal Safeguard Mechanism, intended to drive down emissions by Australia’s largest emitters (currently > 100,000t CO2 pa) is under review. The SGM is a crucial tool for emissions reduction and the reform in train is a a test of the new government’s bona fides on decarbonisation. In this 2 page briefing, Tim Buckley notes that legislation – not regulation – is required, and if the SGM is to have the desired effect, the government must mandate an Avoid>Minimise>Mitigate>Offset hierarchy. Read more

Our latest update including the historic victory for decarbonisation at the AGL AGM, our deep dive into BlueScope’s plan to sink $1bn into carbon intensive blast furnace tech, and our most recent analyses of big banks’ climate efforts – this time focussing on NAB – and of the critical minerals industry, looking at Australian companies expanding offshore. Read more

A victory for impact investing this week after sweeping reforms at carbon dinosaur AGL’s AGM. We track the striking similarities between Sentient Impact Group / Climate Energy Finance’s report “One AGL: from laggard to leader” and AGL’s newly mandated transition plan, which sees it exit coal early and invest ~$20bn in renewables. Read more

With the major steelmaker’s AGM on Tuesday 22 November, Tim Buckley examines why BlueScope is planning to sink $1bn into outdated blast furnace tech at Port Kembla that would entrench huge carbon emissions at the heart of Australian steelmaking for decades to come, just as BlueScope US makes strides in decarbonisation. Read more

In this second in CEF’s series of climate finance analyses of Australia’s big banks, CEF’s Nishtha Aggarwal scrutinises NAB’s efforts against four criteria key to assessing decarbonisation progress: its climate financing pledge, customer engagement, emissions intensity by sector, and its energy loan book. The news is mixed, with some progress, coupled with a need for a dramatic increase in ambition, as the analysis shows. Read more

In paper #7 of CEF’s series on value adding critical minerals, Tim Buckley and Matt Pollard look at Australian companies expanding their operations beyond Australia’s borders with key international projects. Read more

With COP27 underway, the idea of developed countries supporting developing countries with more than just talk has already backslid from “compensation” to the more nebulous political speak of “cooperation and facilitation”. However, trends in the electricity sector in China and India are showing significant promise, and speak more meaningfully than watered-down global promises. Read more

Financial governance and risk expert Praveen Gupta looks at global moves to decarbonise finance, as the RBI consults on climate change with more than $84bn of debt at India’s leading financial institutions at risk from extreme weather events. (A version was first published in Illuminem.) Read more

We launch a new series analysing the big 5 banks’ climate finance and decarbonisation progress, plus, the latest in our series on critical minerals value-adding opportunities in Australia, and calls for a windfall tax on war profiteering fossil fuel multinationals grow. Read more

Tim Buckley comments on the implications of the landmark news today that the federal environment minister will reassess 18 coal and gas projects on the basis of climate impacts – a first. Read more

In this first in CEF’s series of climate finance analyses of Australia’s Big 5 banks – ANZ, CBA, Westpac, NAB and Macquarie Bank – energy finance analyst Nishtha Aggarwal takes a deep dive into ANZ’s efforts against four criteria that are key to assessing progress on decarbonisation in line with science-based targets: ANZ’s climate financing pledge, customer engagement, emissions intensity by sector, and its energy loan book. Read more

Guest contributor Nicolette Boele, Smart Energy Council Expert Adviser, Electrification of Everything, and Shadow Representative for the federal seat of Bradfield, NSW, shares her insights on the key factors needed to drive the energy transition at the scale and pace required and in a way that leaves no one behind. Read more