Our work

A full overview of our work and impacts across our program areas for the 6 months July-Dec 2023 Read more

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In 2023, China experienced a groundbreaking surge in renewable energy, installing 292.8GW of clean power, surpassing expectations. Solar capacity grew by an impressive 148%, with 216.9GW added, while wind power increased by 75.9GW. These achievements, constituting 52.4% of total installed capacity, drove China’s economic growth and decarbonising China’s job market. Challenges remain, including high reliance on thermal power, but China’s clean energy push sets a global example for sustainable development. Read more

The world is in a technology, trade and finance race as the energy transition takes hold and we grapple with the growing impacts of climate change and climate risk. Australia has one of the biggest investment, employment, and net export opportunities this century, but only if we proactively build a strategic national response proportional to the investment opportunity. In our submission with Climate Capital Forum, we call for a major public policy shift, at scale, to set the right market signals and strategically leverage the national balance sheet, and selectively provide public budget support to unlock and crowd-in private capital. Read more

As the global economy transforms to mitigate the climate crisis, decarbonising the A$2.6Trn global iron and steel industry, and the inevitable transition away from coking coal, is on the horizon with global finance beginning to enable this. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of both iron ore and metallurgical coal (met coal). We provide 57% of the world’s iron ore (A$124bn FY23 revenue) and 52% of global metallurgical coal (A$61bn FY23 revenue) and are therefore massively trade exposed as the world belatedly moves to limit global warming to 1.5°C and low carbon steel making becomes a reality. Read more

Our new report shows that the surge of utility scale firmed renewables in NSW, alongside CER, means there will be no electricity supply reliability gap if Australia’s biggest coal clunker – Eraring power station – is closed on-time as planned in 2025. Read more

The latest Climate Energy Finance update – read our comprehensive End of Year wrap, including the 2023 Report Card on the government’s policy progress for boosting Australia’s transition to becoming a renewable energy superpower. Read more

Australia must back the right horse at COP28 to keep 1.5°C alive –  and that means 3X renewables by 2030 […] Read more

CEF and our colleagues Smart Energy Council, Rewiring Australia, Climate Energy Finance, Climate Capital Forum, Diplomats for Climate Dr John Hewson AM and former President, Australian Conservation Foundation, Mara Bun release an open letter today countering mis/disinformation and demonstrating why nuclear is not viable as an option for Australia in the time needed to tackle climate and energy challenges, as the LNP attempts to delay and distract from the renewables revolution. Read more

CEF assesses the 2019 A$400m Woolworths Green Bond qualified under CBI’s Low Carbon Buildings criteria and find that it is difficult to credit CBI’s certification of these uses of proceeds as “contributing to climate mitigation” at all. Green bonds are designed to be a source of private capital mobilisation to achieve the massive uptick in clean energy investments required this decade. Given the volume of investment required to fund global decarbonisation, it is imperative that investors can identify credible emissions reduction opportunities to support. In our view, incorrectly conflating the notion that both assets and activities “contribute to” climate change mitigation creates a market distortion where the issue of real emissions reduction is obfuscated. Read more

Australia’s transition to net zero will require a significant amount of private and public investment. It is important that financial markets are well placed to finance this transition and therefore support the Government’s emissions reductions target. To assist this financing, the Government has proposed an ambitious and comprehensive Sustainable Finance Strategy. The Strategy will help mobilise the private investment needed in coming decades, enable Australian firms to access the capital needed to finance their own transitions and take advantage of new opportunities that arise, and ensure that the financial opportunities and risks presented by climate change are identified and well managed. The Strategy also recognises that markets are increasingly focussed on sustainability issues that extend beyond climate change. Read more

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