Media

New CEF report warns Australia’s dig-and-ship economy faces a clear and present threat as China systematically diversifies away from Australian supply across lithium, iron ore and critical minerals. Read more

New CEF report maps China’s vertically integrated green industrial strategy, and finds resource-rich nations increasingly forming win-win partnerships with Beijing. Read more

Caroline Wang, an analyst with the Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance, said the resulting renewables buildout has recently left China’s world-leading coal fleet running at less than half capacity. “They are just leading the world by an absolutely mind-boggling margin,” Wang said. Emissions in China are estimated to have fallen 1% in the first half. Meanwhile, nearly half the passenger vehicles sold in the country last year were all-electrics or plug-in hybrids. Read more

Tim Buckley, energy analyst at Climate Energy Finance, explains the strategic importance of a new rare earth discovery amid the global shift to renewables. Rare earths, though niche, are critical for technologies like EVs and wind turbines. China dominates global supply, making non-Chinese sources like Australia vital, especially during US-China trade tensions. The Australian government may support viable projects for sovereign capability. However, environmental concerns exist due to radioactivity and mining impacts, raising questions about social and geopolitical consequences. Read more

The exposé accuses Climate Energy Finance of proposing something truly radical – capping mining fuel tax breaks and redirecting the savings to renewable energy. The evidence of foreign manipulation? A decade-old university donation, a couple of routine business partnerships and the apparently treasonous act of acknowledging that China manufactures solar panels. Welcome to McCarthyism for the climate age, where any policy that trims fossil profits gets recast as Beijing’s master plan. The guilt-by-association game begins with CEF’s supposed “partners linked to the Chinese Government”. Read more

In the four-page story, she then provides a potted history of China’s economic pathway from the 1990s until the 10-year “Made in China” plan made renewable energy essential to bring their heating emissions down. She quotes Chinese women scientists revealing the country’s energy transformation as “staggering”. Caroline Wang, the China engagement lead at the think tank Climate Energy Finance says: “Clean manufacturers have made themselves indispensable in the new kind of global economy.” Read more

Caroline Wang, the China engagement lead at the Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance, said: “Rising protectionism and supply chain regionalisation have led to a trend by Chinese firms moving from export of products to export of industry, that is localising manufacturing. “On standard-setting, the Chinese government is pushing for the development of standards in the green and low-carbon sector of industry and information technology, and to improve and enhance the green and low-carbon standards system.” Read more

China is electrifying its economy at breakneck speed. That includes transportation – cars, trucks, trains, buses, etc. – that Canada is counting on as a new market for its oil exports. There’s more bad news for Alberta: other Asian countries are copying China’s energy model. Read more

Stiell’s comments come as Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce and One Nation’s Pauline Hanson push a private member’s bill to scrap Australia’s 2050 net zero target, exposing divisions within the Coalition. Meanwhile, the Albanese government is preparing to set its 2035 target next year, due in September, a decision widely viewed as a test of whether Australia intends to match the pace of global decarbonisation or remain tethered to its fossil fuel export model. Tim Buckley, founder of Climate Energy Finance, said the 2035 target represents Australia’s chance to align with the global clean energy transition and secure long-term economic and geopolitical benefits. Read more

“The Chinese companies are ready to go,” says Tim Buckley, director at Climate Energy Finance. “But they’re waiting on clarity around incentives, and a signal they’re welcome.” Treasury has confirmed that private Chinese firms like CATL, BYD and Trina Solar face no restrictions under FIRB rules – though state-owned enterprises remain sensitive. Still, Buckley warns, “we need to partner with them, bring in their robotics, and leverage our low-cost energy future”. Read more

Tim Buckley highlights the immense opportunity and risk for Australia in the global push for green steel. As the world’s […] Read more

Caroline Wang from Clean Energy Finance, a think tank, highlighted that China leads the world by a “staggering margin” when it comes to many energy transition sectors, such as electric vehicles and solar panels. She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that for Australia to meet its emission reduction targets and build a green industrial capacity, China will be an essential partner as Australia needs access to Chinese technology and Chinese industrial capability. Read more