Our work

On 18 December 2024, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Kety Gallagher released the Albanese Government’s 2024-25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). This comes after the 2024-25 budget, released in May, announced $21bn in new funding initiatives under the landmark Future Made in Australia (FMIA) framework. Read more

CEF’s new report examines the global shift towards decarbonising the iron and steel industry and outlines a strategic plan for Australia to capitalise on this transition by establishing a domestic green iron industry, leveraging its comparative advantages in its vast iron ore reserves and renewable energy potential. Read more

CEF’s news report shows that a green capital tsunami of investments from China into cleantech around the world is speeding decarbonisation, but Australia, with its opaque foreign investment regime, is missing out, as investment hit a multidecade low last year, forgoing its massive opportunity to co-invest with China in clean energy-powered onshore value-adding, including green iron. Read more

In a landmark for accelerating electrification and decarbonisation of the Pilbara, Australia’s resources engine room, the WA Government’s Pilbara Energy Transition (PET) Plan has announced the development of priority common user infrastructure (CUI) corridors in the region. Read more

An analysis of current energy demand in the Pilbara, and the need for common user electricity infrastructure to accelerate electrification and decarbonisation at speed and scale, leveraging Australia’s opportunity to lead globally on zero-emissions value-added industries of the future. Read more

Climate Energy Finance (CEF) sees an urgent imperative for the Federal Government to establish the policy and budget support to accelerate the development of a competitive Australian green metals industry by investing a minimum of an additional $10-30bn capital and direct budget support in the 2024-25 Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), building on Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ $22bn budget support provided in May 2024, and the $40-45bn of capital support established in May 2023 (via the NRF, NAIF, EFA, CEFC, ARENA). Read more

An analysis of Queensland’s current energy grid and its transition from FY24 to FY36, modelling the impacts of large-scale and distributed energy generation and storage to meet Queensland’s renewable energy and emissions reduction targets. Read more

Tim Buckley’s presentation to the ALP National Conference in Brisbane, its key policy endorsement forum, sets out the challenge the US Inflation Reduction Act poses to Australia as it turbocharges US and global decarbonisation, and sets out what Australia need to do to urgently respond. Read more

Overnight, US President Biden and Australian PM Albanese announced a groundbreaking bilateral agreement which will increase cooperation between the two countries on energy transition, with a focus on critical minerals and cleantech supply chain. Read our initial analysis of what this means for Australia, especially in the context of the massive $800bn US inflation Reduction Act turbocharging energy transition there. Read more

Tim Buckley’s presentation to the board of Argo Investments takes a deep dive into global energy transition, looking at major policy initiatives and capital inflows accelerating decarbonisation in the US, China, India, the EU, Canada and Korea, with a focus the implications for Australian policy and investment. Read more

The Federal Budget is a mixed bag for climate and energy with a serious case of underreach on fixing the failed PRRT gas tax, but some good policy and funding progress on a National Net Zero Authority, energy bill relief and home and business electrification, and measures to respond to the global race to renewables, such as $2bn for a green Hydrogen Headstart program – all in the context of a massive surprise $4.2bn surplus. However, we need to see more fiscal ambition to respond to game-changing international policy and funding reforms such as the US Inflation Reduction Act that are turbocharging global energy transition. Read more

As Tim Buckley writes, hydrogen has great potential in our decarbonisation pathway, but absent massive subsidies, commercial viability is a decade away, and we need to beware the hype. Read more