Media

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

Not in Australia’s national interest Tim Buckley, the director of Climate Energy Finance, asks: “How is a takeover of Santos by a state owned enterprise in the Middle East remotely in Australia’s national interest? “Abu Dhabi National Oil Company controlling Australia’s second largest methane gas producer and exporter? Enabling the Santos CEO to extract a fat takeover premium as he sales off into retirement? Read more

Australia’s landslide vote for the Labor Party in early May has given the government a clear mandate to tackle climate change as it makes a bid with Pacific countries to host Cop31 in 2026. More public spending to support the renewable energy transition is expected, even as the government conditionally approved an extension to 2070 of one of the biggest liquefied natural gas projects in the world. Australia is one of the biggest exporters of natural gas in the world. Read more

Woodside expects annual sales volumes to be almost 50 per cent higher in the 2030s than they are today but insists the company has not walked away from its “Paris-aligned climate targets”. O’Neill joined as Chief Operations Officer in 2018 and was appointed CEO in 2021, overseeing the $40 billion merger with BHP’s petroleum assets as the mining giant opted to reduce its carbon emissions and increase its exposure to the energy transition. Development of the US$17.5 billion Louisiana LNG (LLNG) project will catapult Woodside into the top echelon by enabling the company to deliver approximately 24 Mtpa from its global LNG portfolio in the 2030s, and operating over 5 per cent of global LNG supply. Read more

Expert view “The Safeguard Mechanism only accounts for Scope 1 direct emissions, and Woodside reports that Scope 3 is 93% of CY2024 total emissions (Scope 1-3). So, the vast majority of the massive nature of the climate bomb that is the North West Shelf is the exported emissions beyond the scope of the Safeguard Mechanism, including the methane burned in the electricity generation for the processing of methane into LNG. Woodside could progressively decarbonise their electricity emissions by incorporating solar, wind and BESS, but there is zero interest from the board or management leadership to do this so far. Read more

For years, experts have been calling on the Government to stand up to the gas industry and demand not only a greater slice of their supply for domestic use, but also fairer prices. Around 80 per cent of Australia’s gas, on average, is exported. Meanwhile, wholesale gas prices have doubled from where they were four years ago. Read more

Tim Buckley was not impressed. After a scandalous article appeared in the financial press citing the Clean Energy Council’s apparent embrace of methane gas as a “transition fuel” Buckley, who bows to no fossil fuellers and is one of the transition industry’s most respected commentators, called it “bizarre”. Methane does play an important role in electricity system firming, but its role is small and declining, and the battery disruption will only accelerate this ongoing decline. Read more

“The Australian Energy Market Operator report for the December quarter of 2024 shows domestic gas use accounted for only about 16% of total gas produced in eastern Australia,” says Buckley. “We exported the other 84% of all the gas produced in eastern Australia. That’s the most important point: we don’t have a shortage. Read more

Tim Buckley, Director at Climate Energy Finance, said in an interview with Jaynie Seal that Peter Dutton’s new gas plan sounds good but doesn’t solve the real problem. The plan offers $1 billion to increase gas production and lower energy bills, but Tim says there’s no actual gas shortage—just poor policy. For 50 years, gas was cheap in Australia, but after export facilities opened, prices jumped and local use dropped. Tim believes we should focus on keeping enough gas at fair prices for Australians before exporting it. He wants prices below $10, which is still high, but better than what people are paying now. Read more

Highlights Federal election has been called this morning – for 3rd May 2025 Budget – not much climate or energy information in the budget, perhaps there’s more to be announced during the election. BYD’s amazing stats. Matt Pollard’s oped in RenewEconomy. 120,000 R&D staff!!! EV momentum Tim shares overall EV market stats, perhaps a lowlight for Tesla. Caroline’s Wang work on electricity generation stats. Highlighting the first two months of 2025 performance. Harry Martin’s International Solar PV and Bess Manufacturing Trends. See Climate Energy Finance report. Read more

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) quarterly gas report highlights electrification of gas use is contributing to a downward trend in forecast gas consumption for commercial, residential and industrial users. Since the 2024 Gas Statement of Opportunity (GSOO), AEMO notes domestic gas consumption has continued to decline. The reduction in gas consumption has coincided with noticeably higher retail gas prices compared to recent years and slower growth of new building approvals. Read more

Hoping to avoid 25% tariffs, Japanese and European officials have agreed to deals analysts are describing as financially questionable. Meanwhile, […] Read more