Media

We need to get on the bandwagon or get left behind. The transition is happening. The world is moving on. If we don’t move with everyone, Australia will languish and stagnate. So what’s in this plan? Founder and director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley is here. G’day, Tim. Good afternoon Jake. So how would you describe this plan in simple terms? This plan. is definitely Australia’s uniquely Australian response to the US Inflation Reduction Act. Without doubt. Read more

IN Australian Resources and Investment Magazine, Tim Buckley recommends producers look for strategic partners who want to secure long-term, reliable supply, possibly supported by an equity share. “This can be globally – say, Korea, Japan, India and the US, supported domestically by leveraging the growing interest of government-owned finance entities like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), Export Finance Australia (EFA), and the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF),” he said. Read more

Tim Buckley articulates a concern about the sizable subsidies provided by the NSW government to Origin Energy (ORG), owner of Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant. Tim refers to a pattern established over a decade ago when Origin was awarded $75 million by the government and notes that the company has since made lucrative returns, even reaching pre-tax cash flows of $1 billion over the past three years. He highlights Origin’s negotiations for a further funding increase to keep the power plant operational. According to Tim, sustaining the plant is non-essential. He emphasises Amazon’s analysis outlying an adequately reliable grid without Origin’s operations. Tim urges the NSW government to avoid giving further multi-million dollar subsidies to Origin Energy. Read more

On the Planet A podcast dive into the world of renewable energy and decarbonization with Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance – an engaging discussion on the future of energy, global energy markets, and how we are becoming a multi-polar world. Read more

Queensland is poised to become Australia’s renewable energy “superpower” after unveiling a $570 million battery industry investment. Premier Steven Miles on Thursday announced the multimillion dollar strategy that is forecast to contribute $1.3 billion to the economy and create 9100 jobs by 2030. Think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) said Queensland was becoming the nation’s “cleantech leader”. “The battery strategy is further evidence that Queensland is not just undergoing an energy transition but a complete transformation from a legacy coal and gas petrostate to a renewable energy and critical minerals superpower,” CEF director Tim Buckley said. Read more

Queensland is not just undergoing an energy transition, but a complete transformation from a legacy petrostate to a renewable energy superpower. Its staggering momentum has lessons for other states and the federal government. The state is a case study on the catalysing impact of public capital expenditure in “crowding-in” private investment to energy transition. As Climate Energy Finance’s new report released this week details, Queensland’s nation-leading investment in transmission, large-scale low-cost renewable energy and consumer energy resources (CERs) is resulting in a tidal wave of public and private capital. Read more

With Laura Tingle on ABC TV’s 7.30, Tim Buckley supports calls by Rod Sims and Ross Garnaut of The Superpower Institute for the federal government to leverage Australia’s generational opportunity be become a zero-emissions trade and investment leader – and for a Carbon Solutions Levy to invest in the clean energy transition. Read more

Our full page Canberra Times op ed with John Grimes, CEO of the Smart Energy Council, Rewiring Australia’s Dr Saul Griffiths, Blair Palese of the Climate Capital Forum, Dr John Hewson and Mara Bun: The prospect of nuclear power generation in Australia is now a live debate. There are a number of barriers that make nuclear unviable as a solution for Australia’s energy transition in a timeframe necessary to respond to the climate, energy and cost-of-living crisis. We need energy, decarbonisation and cost of living solutions this decade. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends a 50 per cent emissions reduction by 2030. As former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel has noted, It is hard to imagine first operation of small modular reactor (SMR) technology before 2040. Read more

A better focus for the former prime minister than fending off Brookfield’s ~$30bn of decarbonisation capital that comes with its bid for gentailer Origin would be using his influence to press for reform of the short-term performance test benchmarks that penalise the superannuation industry for investments in future facing, low carbon industries. 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

Tim Buckley wraps PM Albanese’s state visit to the US and the need for a more ambitious strategic public capital commitment to leverage the opportunities of the US IRA, noting the $2bn additional commitment to critical minerals announced is insufficient relative to our massive opportunity as the world’s #1 exporter of lithium and does not adequately respond to the scale and pace of global decarbonisation. Read more

Tim Buckley told ABC News that the $2bn announcement by the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese into the sector through low-interest loans for miners and processors is a token response. The US has put US$1,000bn on the table to drive investment in the decarbonisation. Australian government needs to place $100bn public capital support to crowd in the decarbonisation sector, as we need to respond at the speed and scale to the size of the opportunity. Read more