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Tim Buckley’s presentation to the Smart Energy Council conference looks at the massive global acceleration of decarbonisation, including via the funding and policy reforms of Biden’s IRA which has turbocharged the transition in the US. What are the implications for the imminent Federal Budget if Australia to position itself as a global leader in the new cleantech world economy? Read more

CEF’s Tim Buckley told UBS analysts of Australia’s potential to be a renewable energy superpower, given abundant critical minerals, scope to value-add and minimal supply chain risk. Read more

This month, the Government of India announced exciting plans to treble renewable energy tenders to 50GW pa so as to add 250GW of RE by 2027/28. Brookfield of Canada also announced a US$1bn investment in Avaada Energy, which has aggressive solar expansion plans, following a number of significant injections of global capital into Indian renewables this year. We examine the strong momentum building after 3 years of inaction in the country’s energy transformation – traction which now requires government policy ambition and consistency to sustain. Read more

As the federal government’s Resources and Energy Quarterly released today projects lithium export earnings of $18.6bn in 22/23, CEF’s Matt Pollard reviews growth in and investments by key Australian producers as we start to leverage our once in a century opportunity to lead the world in value-added critical minerals. Read more

In this presentation to UBS, Tim Buckley looks at key global energy transition themes and drivers including RE price deflation, pricing emissions, market returns, China’s leadership on decarbonisation, key international policy and funding initiatives e.g. the US IRA and EU NZIA (Net Zero Industry Act), India’s PLI, South Korea and Japan’s GX Roadmap, and Australia’s opportunity to position itself as a pre-export value-adding critical minerals superpower. Read more

In this presentation for the Moir Group, Tim Buckley looks at key trends in the energy transition including renewable energy price deflation, emissions pricing, market returns, China’s dominance in decarbonisation, the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU Net Zero Industry Act, and Australia’s once in a century opportunity to lead the world in critical minerals and energy transition materials value-added processing and manufacturing, powered by renewables. Read more

The global race to decarbonisation massively escalated overnight with new regulations designed to turbocharge and onshore cleantech in the EU, following the US’s game-changing Inflation Reduction Act, which is spearheading the energy revolution there. The challenge is now on for Australia to accelerate investment and leverage its competitive advantages as a value-adding energy transition materials and renewables superpower – or miss the boat. Read more

Our news update, where we review the new EU Net Zero Industry Act and the pressure it puts on Australia to dramatically escalate decarbonisation investment; bust the AEMO myth that there is a gas shortage when the shortage is actually in gas cartel ethics; and look at the coming electricity price hike, moderated by the government’s market intervention last year Read more

The launch of CEF’s major new report on Australia’s once-in-a-century critical minerals opportunity – “A Critical Minerals Value-Adding Superpower” – with a foreword and AFR op ed by former chief scientist Dr Alan Finkel, the latest developments on the Adani crisis, and the rocky path of the Safeguard Mechanism reforms with just 3 weeks till parliament rises ahead of the May budget. Read more

This week saw Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers make the call to back the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) recommendation to reject a Chinese-linked fund’s increased equity stake in an emerging Australian critical minerals developer, Northern Minerals, which is set to mine the rare earth dysprosium, used as an additive in neodymium magnets for electric vehicle motors. We look at the geopolitical implications of this move in the context of China’s global dominance on all things decarbonisation and responses by our trading partners. Read more

Our 6th and latest instalment on the Hindenburg washup: While Adani is the biggest private coal developer in the world, the Adani Group had also pledged to invest US$70bn in green industries this decade, suggesting at face value that a setback for Adani is a setback to India’s energy transition. CEF would argue otherwise. Prior to January 2023, Adani was, at best, walking both sides of the street, deploying greenwashing to raise foreign capital, and leveraging global capital markets to expand its fossil fuel interests as it leveraged crony capitalism at home. Read Tim Buckley’s latest analysis. Read more

CEF’s comprehensive summation of the critical minerals opportunity for Australia including a response to the federal consultation’s Terms of Reference and key policy recommendations. Read more