Media

As Tim Buckley asks: What kind of game is AustralianSuper, the country’s biggest super fund, playing with Origin Energy? It is shaping up to scuttle a bid by Canadian fund manager Brookfield et al to acquire Australia’s largest power company, gentailer Origin Energy, and transition it to renewables and storage with a ~$30bn investment – a mammoth capital injection that will be transformative for Australian decarbonisation. What is AustralianSuper offering as its alternative plan? Higher electricity prices, slower decarbonisation and more climate destruction? If it kills the deal, will it step up and guarantee a $30bn commitment to decarbonising Origin? If not, why not? If it has no legitimate answer to these questions, it should get out of the way. Read more

Oped written by CEF’s China Energy Policy Analyst Xuyang Dong and Ember’s climate strategy advisor Chris Wright on China’s recent methane emissions reduction action plan. China’s recent methane action plan is a game-changer in the global effort to combat emissions. With commitments in its 2026-2030 Five-Year Plan, China is taking a lead in the methane reduction race. This announcement underscores Australia’s lag in implementing a clear methane action plan, despite being a significant emitter. As COP28 approaches, the diplomatic significance and China’s track record of exceeding targets highlight the urgent need for global methane reduction. Read more

Our op ed on PM Albanese’s state visit to the US. While the visit was touted as a platform for major announcements on investment into an Australian response to the game-changing Inflation Reduction Act, there was a lot of talk, but only $2bn for Australian critical minerals – entirely insufficient relative to the scale of our opportunity to lead the world in processing of minerals onshore. Read our full analysis. Read more

A profound investment surge in renewables, heat pump, batteries and EV manufacturing capacity globally is underway, with annual global manufacturing capacities of each due to double every 24 months at the current run rate, Tim Buckley of Climate Energy Finance (CEF) told MWM. Read more

Wong’s team was determined to get the relationship back on track. As the first female foreign minister of Chinese-Malaysian heritage, Wong understands how Australian multiculturalism can influence and shape a highly diverse new world order, notes Xuyang Dong from the Sydney-based think tank Climate Energy Finance Read more

Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance highlights the remarkable advancements in renewable energy made by China, with a particular emphasis on solar and wind power. Tim is impressively captivated by China’s prodigious expansion in the energy field, recognising that it has surpassed other nations by installing an astonishing fivefold increase in renewable energy. He draws attention to China’s tactical approach, noting that an impressive 156 gigawatts of wind and solar have been set up within a span of eight months, signifying a substantial 120% escalation compared to the previous year. Read more

References News 参考消息 reports: Dong Xuyang, an analyst at an independent think tank in Sydney – Climate Energy Finance, said that “diversifying away from China in the supply chain would be tough”. “Whether people like it or not, the reality is that China is dominating the global renewable industry as a result of insufficient effort from the rest of the world. And China is producing these products at the scale and speed the global energy transition needs.” [This article is reposted on Tencent, Sohu, 163.com, Sina Finance, Shanghai Observer, Sina] Read more

Australian Chinese Daily reports: “Diversifying away from China in the supply chain would be tough,” said Dong Xuyang, an analyst at Climate Energy Finance, an independent think tank in Sydney. “Whether people like it or not, the reality is that China is dominating the global renewable industry as a result of insufficient effort from the rest of the world. And China is producing these products at the scale and speed the global energy transition needs.” Read more

An extended interview with Tim Buckley on the Utopia Now! podcast covering why finance is important for mitigating the ecological and climate crisis, how the green energy transition is going, whether we are decarbonising fast enough, and government capture by fossil fuel interests amongst other topics. Read more

On the first anniversary of the game-changing US Inflation Reduction that has turbocharged energy transition there and triggered a global race to the top, Tim Buckley and Blair Palese review its top 5 impacts and the top 5 actions Australia should take to respond. Read more

“Fast forward 10 years when there’s a global price on carbon emissions, and Australia could be exporting decarbonization,” says Tim Buckley who would like to see A$100 billion of Australian capital, including super, hived off for critical minerals investment. Read more

“Australia must now, as a key strategic priority, work constructively with South Korea to ensure both economies are dealt into the North American value-added cleantech opportunity, and to leverage our combined world-leading capacity and skill sets,” authors Matt Pollard and Tim Buckley state in CEF’s new report. Read more