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Five industries are targeted by the budget including renewable hydrogen, critical minerals processing, green metals, low carbon liquid fuels and clean energy manufacturing, including battery and solar panel supply chains. Director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley said it was excellent to see the $21 billion down payment. “Tonight’s budget shows a government that understands both this imperative to act to transition Australia to its future as a clean, green superpower and the opportunity cost and risks of not acting to secure Australia’s place in the new net zero world economy, said Buckley. Read more

Finally, after a devastating decade of climate and energy transition chaos, inaction and underinvestment under the LNP luddites, we appear to have a government that appreciates Australia’s comparative advantages. Superabundant renewables, world-leading reserves of critical minerals and strategic metals, an advanced industrial base and strong human capital – are key to locking in our economic prosperity for decades to come. On Tuesday night, the federal government announced $21.0 billion of new funding initiatives under the Future Made in Australia Act strategic framework in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ 2024-2025 Federal Budget. Read more

Australia touted plans to become a “renewable energy superpower” in an annual budget Tuesday, but the government’s books also laid bare the depth of the economy’s dependence on mining and fossil fuels. Energy analyst Tim Buckley said the push for local manufacturing could also limit Australia’s exposure to external economic shocks. “We can accept that China has cornered the market in an area like solar panels, and resolve to just buy from them forever,” he said. “Or we can build some domestic capacity as a kind of energy security policy.” Read more

Founder and Director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley says: “CEF has been calling for $100bn of capital and budget support over the coming decade to accelerate and turbocharge the development of zero-emissions industries of the future here in Australia. In tonight’s Budget we saw an excellent $21bn down-payment.”“The world is in a rapidly accelerating technology, trade and finance decarbonisation race to the top as the global energy transition speeds up. This is Australia’s biggest investment, employment, and export opportunity in a century to reorient from our fossil fuel reliant past, but we clearly needed this budget to respond strategically, proportionally and fast, which it has done. Read more

Syndicated to Times of India and globally via AFP | The dreams of Australia’s potential as a renewables superpower have invariably come to nothing as policy makers grapple with the country’s long reliance on iron ore, thermal coal, and natural gas – which remain its most lucrative exports. “These massive economic windfalls from mining and coal will soon start to drop off as economies decarbonise,” energy analyst Tim Buckley told AFP. With this plan in the works, and if we make the right choices, that renewables dream could become a reality within the next decade. Read more

“We need to level the playing field by pricing in carbon emissions; that is the key policy required before Green Hydrogen development will really scale up,” said Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance. Read more

Tim Buckley described the US-Australia Climate and Energy Compact announced this week as a critically-important development in the context of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is turbocharging the energy transformation in the US with upwards of $800 billion of federal investment in clean energy initiatives and attracting a massive influx of global capital to the US, opening up huge investment opportunities for Australian companies. Read more

Tim Buckley shares his insights on the new US-Australia Climate Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact. He views this as a geopolitical statement of global significance for Australia, demonstrating strategic intent to collaborate on critical minerals, climate, and clean energy., also emphasising the importance of Congress ratifying President Biden’s commitment for the agreement to be realised. Read more

Tim Buckley says the new US-Australia Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact agreed by US President Biden and PM Albanese provides a landmark policy statement of strategic intent, formalising collaboration and coordination of policies and investments to expand and diversify the clean energy and critical minerals supply chains that underpin global decarbonisation. Read more

This last weekend, US President Biden and PM Albanese agreed a landmark compact for bilateral cooperation on climate and energy, which will massively boost inbound investment and elevate Australia’s potential to lead the world in production of value-added critical minerals, green hydrogen and materials key to the energy transition, as Tim Buckley explains. Read more

Tim Buckley comments on the PRRT changes in the budget: “This looks very pedestrian relative to the LNG export industry’s windfall war-profiteering and oversized contribution to Australian domestic energy price hyperinflation. The far too modest PRRT reforms in this budget are a missed opportunity to deliver a substantial social dividend to the Australian people, limiting the government’s capacity to fund critically urgent social and energy transition programs, and undercutting the government’s claims to fiscal balance and responsibility.” Read more

Tim Buckley on the budget’s support for the Capacity Investment Mechanism replacing the LNP’s Coalkeeper: ““With the inevitable acceleration of coal-fired power plant closures, and the ongoing delays to the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro storage project, this will play a critical role of crowding-in private capital for accelerated battery storage investments to complement the rapid renewable energy capacity buildout of the states-led renewable energy zones.” Read more