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Leading clean energy and investor groups today applauded Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s expansion of the Capacity Investment Scheme to 32GW, a huge stepchange in ambition that will accelerate Australia’s clean energy transition and ensure energy affordability and reliability. See the joint statement CEF released with the Clean Energy Investor Group, representing renewable energy investors with ~11GW of installed capacity across ~70 power stations and a portfolio value of ~$24bn; the Smart Energy Council, the independent body for the Australian smart energy industry with more than 950 members, Nexa Advisory and Solar Citizens. Read more

NAB’s exposure to renewables is higher than its on-book fossil fuel financing for the first time but the full scope of its fossil value chain exposures and facilitative financing is not disclosed. This is inconsistent with NAB’s green financing disclosure and we call on NAB for greater transparency in fossil fuel financing. NAB supported the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI) which models a 36% reduction in Australian LNG exports to 2030 and 75% reduction to 2040 against a 2020 baseline guided by the IEA NZE scenario. However, NAB’s oil and gas (O&G) financing policy does not stack up to this ambition, with major gaps in corporate finance, bonds, and facilitative finance. Read more

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What kind of game is AustralianSuper, the country’s biggest super fund, playing with Origin Energy? The pension behemoth, with $300bn in assets under management and over 3.26 million members, is shaping up to scuttle a bid by Canadian fund manager Brookfield, plus Singapore’s Temasek and GIC, to acquire Australia’s largest power company, gentailer Origin Energy, owner of near-death coal clunker Eraring, Australia’s biggest coal-power station slated for mothballing in 2025. Is it in the public interest for the acquisition to be blocked when doing so cruels the $20-30bn investment in 14GW of accelerated firmed renewable energy to which Brookfield has committed? Read more

Founder of the Climate Capital Forum and one of The Australian’s Top 100 Green Energy Players Blair Palese says we need a new playbook for the decarbonising ballgame. A massive national strategic capital public investment program that establishes Australia as a zero-emissions trade and investment leader is required. Read more

Energy lending trends in the right direction with renewables lending increasing 28% yoy as fossil energy exposures decreased 7% yoy. However, a significant accelerated pivot is required to lift from the current 0.7 to 1 energy supply investment ratio of clean energy to fossil fuels, and reach BNEF’s benchmark of 4:1 by 2030. While thermal coal exit commitments are on track, oil and gas (O&G) policy updates still do not restrict corporate finance and deal facilitation to companies or projects expanding supply beyond a 1.5 degree pathway. Read more

Tim Buckley’s presentation to the ANU’s Rare Earth Conference Read more

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Treasury has opened its consultation on a sustainable finance strategy that promises to strengthen the ability for Australia’s financial markets to allocate capital to decarbonising Australia’s economy. One of its priorities is a sustainable finance ‘taxonomy’ that will establish what economic activities warrant the special consideration by green and transition-labelled finance pools focused on mitigating the effects of climate change. The potential leverage includes Australia’s $3.5tn superfund pool, the banking sector’s collective $400bn in sustainable finance targets, and the Government’s proposed Green Bond program. However, this mobilisation of capital for decarbonisation will only succeed if the taxonomy is credible and achieves widespread market adoption. Read more

We welcome and applaud the Treasurer’s focus today on 4 key industry and economic opportunities, which reflect the key priorities CEF and its partners have identified: refining and processing critical minerals; supporting manufacturing of generation and storage technologies, including batteries; producing renewable hydrogen and its derivatives like ammonia; and forging green metals including green iron. We need to see further details, but the Treasurer’s assertion that $225bn capital investment is needed by 2050 is too low by orders of magnitude, this timeframe is too late, and it reveals a too-cautious federal policy mindset that risks forgoing Australia’s opportunity to position itself as a leader in global cleantech supply chains as the world moves at breakneck speed to decarbonise. Read more

China’s renewables expansion remained strong in September, with 22.6GW of zero emissions capacity added. Hydropower continued to recover in September, reaching 139TWh, up 40.8% y-o-y. In contrast there was only a 2.8% y-o-y increase in thermal power capacity. This month saw China celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) with a pledge of $107bn over the next five years. In the meantime, China’s massive scaling-up of solar manufacturing has changed global solar dynamics triggering a rapid price deflation of solar components and taking prices to record lows. Read more

Modernising the nation’s $10tn housing stock promises to ease cost of living pressures, improve the health and comfort of homes, whilst helping to solve climate change. Australian banks are the main entry point to financing home energy performance upgrades. With a combined 46% mortgage market share, CBA and Westpac have powerful levers to help transform and decarbonise the sector. Read more