Thread: Keeping tabs on Australia"s newly elected Government

• Australia’s climate has warmed by 1.5C since 1910, BoM temperature records show

Australia’s climate has officially warmed by 1.5C since 1910, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-term record of temperatures.

The figure is revealed in the bureau’s annual climate statement that found 2023 was Australia’s joint-eighth warmest year on record, with the national temperature 0.98C above the average between 1961 and 1990.

Countries around the world have agreed to “pursue efforts” to keep global heating to 1.5C, but this temperature goal is widely accepted as being relative to a pre-industrial period from 1850 to 1900 and combines land and ocean temperatures across the globe.

The bureau’s declaration that the continent has warmed by 1.5C has a margin of error that is plus or minus 0.23C, includes only land temperatures and does not relate to targets to keep global heating to 1.5C.

Dr Simon Grainger, a senior climatologist at the bureau, said the warming of Australia’s land surface had moved from 1.48C to the new 1.5C mark after another year of data was added.

“This warming [in Australia] is consistent with a global climate that is warming with 2023 being the warmest year on record globally,” he said.

Global heating is being caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and land clearing that has increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by about 50% since the 18th century.

Dr Andrew King, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne, said he was “not surprised” Australia’s land surface had hit 1.5C “because we know Australia is already warming above the global average”.

“We also know that the land is warming faster than the ocean and many regions are warming faster than the global average,” he said.

A study published last year using Australia’s official records supplemented by older temperature observations, found the land had warmed by about 1.6C relative to the period between 1850 and 1900. Australia’s land surface had warmed at about 1.4 times the global average of 1.1C, the study said.

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• Labor’s fuel efficiency standards mean all new cars could be EVs by 2035, industry group says

Suppliers of electric vehicles are the big winners from the Albanese government’s fuel efficiency standards with one industry group saying half of all new cars will be electric by 2029 and 100% by 2035 on the proposed trajectory.

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, and infrastructure minister, Catherine King, released the details of the plan for consultation on Sunday, saying motorists would potentially save $1,000 a year by 2028 as manufacturers brought in more efficient models.

New passenger cars in Australia use 40% more fuel than those in the European Union, and 20% more than equivalent vehicles in the US. Australia will aim to benchmark measures to the US where driving patterns are more similar.

The Electric Vehicle Council, an industry group, was among those welcoming the standards, including the government’s preferred option that is predicted to slice the nation’s carbon emissions by avoiding almost 100m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2035 and 369m tonnes by 2050.

“We’re pretty pleased with where they’ve landed,” said Behyad Jafari, the council’s chief executive. “We’ve doubled EV sales for three years in a row [to 8.4% of the market in 2023] and we’d like to see it double again this year.”

One industry insider who asked not to be named said the government had “done a really great job”, adding it was “as ambitious as we’d hoped”.

Australia is the only OECD nation without energy efficiency standards for new vehicles other than Russia. The government issued a consultation paper in April 2023 on the proposals, and is giving the public another month to provide feedback before proposing legislation to introduce the scheme by next January.

A likely outcome would be the emergence of a market for carbon credits. EV-only makers such as such as China’s BYD and Tesla from the US would be able to sell credits to carmakers such as Japan’s Toyota or Isuzu that will struggle to match the low-emissions offerings, the insider said.

Matt Hobbs, the chief executive of the Motor Trades Association of Australia, said the emergence of a carbon price “does help” the transition but much more is needed to ensure the market moves to where the government wants it to.

“The actual trajectory is very, very aggressive,” Hobbs said of the government’s preferred option. “I didn’t think they’d go this fast.”

“Fifty per cent of the market will have to be EVs by 2029 to hit these targets,” with an implied 100% share if extended to 2035, he said.

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• Australian Energy Regulator takes legal action against Callide Power Trading over generator explosion

The Australian Energy Regulator is taking a coal-fired Queensland power station to court over an explosion that left nearly half a million homes without power.

In May 2021, multiple generators and high voltage transmission lines in Queensland were tripped following an explosion in the C4 unit at the Callide Power Station in Biloela, central Queensland.

The incident caused nearly 500,000 customers to lose power, from the NSW border to north of Cairns.

On Friday, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) began legal proceedings in the Federal Court, alleging Callide Power Trading broke National Electricity Rules, failing to comply with its own performance standards for Callide C4.

The AER alleges the C4 unit did not have sufficient energy supply to disconnect the generating unit when the faults occurred on the day of the explosion, nor did it have a protection system to promptly disconnect it.

AER board member Justin Oliver said adhering to generator performance standards was "critical" to safe operations.

"Failure to comply with these standards can risk power system security, see consumers disconnected from power supply and cause wholesale energy prices to increase during and beyond these events," Mr Oliver said.

When will it come back online?

Following the C4 explosion, in 2022 generator C3 was also taken offline in an incident involving structural failure.

Efforts to bring both units back online have been plagued with delays.

CS Energy said last month the C3 unit would return to service by the end of March, while the C4 unit was expected to be back online fully by the end of July.

Callide Power Trading, which is the market participant for Callide C Power Trading, is owned in a joint venture.

IG Power owns 50 per cent, while the other half is owned by Callide Energy, a subsidiary of the Queensland government company CS Energy.

In a statement on Friday, Callide Power Trading said it would work co-operatively with the AER to resolve the matter "as soon as possible".

Voluntary administrators were appointed to IG Power in March last year.

Minister for Energy Mark de Brenni said he acknowledged the findings of the AER.

"I am confident that after meeting with workers at the Callide power station, safety and protocol standards are of the utmost importance to CS Energy and its operations," Mr de Brenni said.

Shadow energy minister Deb Frecklington said Queensland was still waiting for answers nearly 1,000 days after the incident.

"In the middle of Queensland's cost-of-living crisis, the seriousness of this development cannot be overstated," she said.

In a separate matter, last month the Federal Court ordered IG Power to appoint special administrators with powers to complete a new investigation into the incidents at the power station.

There is no set date for when the AER's matter will be heard before the Federal Court.

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• Senators reject Greens bill to insert climate trigger into environmental laws

A Senate committee has recommended the parliament vote down a bill that would insert a climate trigger into Australia’s national environmental laws.

The bill, introduced by the Greens, would for the first time require the environment minister to consider the climate impact of a major development during the assessment process under Australia’s environmental laws.

It proposes a ban on developments that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 a year and a requirement for ministerial approval for any projects that would emit between 25,000 and 100,000 tonnes of C02 annually.

“Labor face a huge test this year – will they fix our broken environment law to stop new coal, gas and native forest logging projects or not?” said the Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young.

“In 2024, it is ludicrous that the environment minister can give environmental approval to projects that wreck our climate and destroy our forests.”

But government and coalition members of an upper house committee considering the bill have recommended it be rejected.

This was despite recognising “the significant and profound impact of climate change on the environment, including past and future emissions of greenhouse gases” and “the need for significant reductions of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions”.

“While the committee commends the objectives and intention of the bill, the committee notes a number of significant recent developments since this bill was introduced,” the report states.

It said this included last year’s passage of reforms to the safeguard mechanism, which would “result in emissions reduction from both existing and new industrial facilities”. The report said the bill, by contrast, would only deal with emissions from new facilities and risked duplicating work already being done under the safeguard mechanism.

The committee also said planned reform this year of Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act would ensure that the projected emissions from proposed developments were “transparent prior to their environmental assessment”.

In additional comments, Coalition members of the committee said they believed a climate trigger “would actually deliver the reverse outcome – that is, it would significantly complicate (and compromise) the task of emissions reduction in Australia”.

In a dissenting report, the Greens said it was critical the parliament pass the bill to close a “glaring loophole” in Australia’s laws. They wrote it was disappointing to see the majority report rule out supporting a climate trigger, a position that ignored the “deep and inherent link between our climate and the environment”.

“The safeguard mechanism is but one measure required to address the threats of climate change on Australia’s communities, environment, economies. The safeguard mechanism does not consider the impact of fossil fuels and global warming on our natural environment”.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the government had already made changes to strengthen Australia’s climate laws.

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• Jacinta Price talks to angry farmers at anti-renewables rally outside Canberra Parliament House

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has made a rockstar return to Parliament as she delivered a firey speech against the government’s renewables push.

The opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman was welcomed at the farmers’ rally by a cheering crowd outside of Parliament House on Tuesday.

“You are the custodians of our land. You know better than anybody the importance of taking care of our country,” she told the farmers.

“We should be listening to you. But where is our prime minister and where is Mr (Climate and Energy minister Chris) Bowen? They should have been here. They should have consulted you.”

Senator Price told the roaring crowd, who were protesting against the government’s renewables target of 82 per cent by 2030, she had heard concerns from regional citizens during a road trip with her husband over Christmas.

“I drove to Broken Hill and through to Coober Pedy and nothing angered me more than the sight of wind turbines. Especially after hearing from regional Australians about what it means to clear their land, what it means to have to dispose of these horrible eyesores” Senator Price said.

“The fact that they don’t produce reliable energy. They only produce energy .. slightly .. when the wind blows.

“But the wind’s not blowing now and the sun’s not out now, is it?”

More than 500 people attended Tuesday’s rally, with many calling for a suspension of wind and solar farms and an inquiry into Australia’s clean energy rollout.

Some farmers expressed their frustrations over plans to build hydro power plants across agricultural and rainforest territory.

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce, who attended with his former staffer and wife Vikki Campion told the rally that the new construction of wind and solar farms would risk killing off protected wildlife.

“How can that possibly be of environment benefit? To kill wildlife? But on top of that .. it’s a swindle. It’s a massive multinational swindle underpinned by your taxpayer dollars,” he said.

Former MP Craig Kelly declared Labor’s renewables policy as a “betrayal for our nation.”

“We have men like blackout [Chris] Bowen that wants to close down the remaining 21 gigawatts we have while China is building six times more,” Mr Kelly said.

“We must get rid of net zero.”

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• Queensland government approves coalmine despite concern over ‘climate change consequences’

The Queensland government has approved Whitehaven’s Winchester South coalmine to extract up to 17m tonnes of thermal and metallurgical coal each year for 28 years.

Queensland’s coordinator-general recommended the approval of the mine last year despite conceding it “has the capacity to limit human rights” due to “climate change consequences that may arise from the project.”

The project is estimated to produce 583m tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution – more than Australia’s national annual greenhouse gas emissions – including 14.2m tonnes of on site emissions, and 567m tonnes of scope three emissions when it is burned overseas.

Approximately 58% of the mine’s coal is slated for steel production, while the other 42% would be exported to Asian countries for use producing electricity.

The decision comes after Queensland premier, Steven Miles, doubled the state’s emissions reduction target to 75% by 2035 – making it one of the most ambitious in the country.

Dr Coral Rowston, the director of Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland, said it was “contradictory” for the Queensland government to approve the mine so soon after bolstering its emissions reduction target.

The Queensland Miles Government can reduce the state’s emissions, or it can have new coalmines. It can’t have both.”

The mine still requires federal approval before going ahead.

• Australian fossil fuel tax could raise $100bn in first year alone, Rod Sims and Ross Garnaut say

A tax on fossil fuel production could help fund Australia’s transition to becoming a carbon-free energy giant, lower the cost of living and assist the world to cut greenhouse emissions, according to two veteran economists.

Ross Garnaut, a leading economist during the Hawke government, and Rod Sims, a former head of the competition watchdog, say a so-called carbon solution levy would raise $100bn in its first year alone if introduced in 2030-31 and set at Europe’s five-year average price of $90/tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.

This tax combined with other steps – including deploying the levy to subsidise as much as half the cost of new carbon-free iron, aluminium or fuel production plants – would allow Australia to exploit its abundant renewable energy resources to revive an increasingly moribund economy, they will say.

“The global transition to net zero is Australia’s opportunity,” Garnaut, the founder of the Superpower Institute, will say in a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday. “We can use it to raise productivity and living standards after the decade of stagnation.”

Taking a cue from the Albanese government’s reworking of the legislated stage-three tax cuts, Garnaut will say shifting politics could prompt politicians to alter course and rework policies such as reintroducing a carbon price scrapped a decade ago by the Abbott government.

“We know that the constraints from the climate wars make the implementation of the [carbon levy] impossible,” he will say. But it “is not as impossible as living with our failure to play our full part in the global effort to stop the bushfires and cyclones and denudation of our beaches getting worse. It is not as impossible as being unable to pay for our ageing population, and unable to pay for our submarines.”

Sims, chair of the Superpower Institute, will tell the National Press Club that some of these ideas “may be rejected immediately”. Still, it is important to keep “tilling the soil” to nurture them, noting that past changes such as cutting import tariffs were initially very unpopular.

“Basic economics means you must price the damage that fossil carbon imposes on us all,” Sims will say. “Not to do so is to make it essentially impossible for green products to compete with currently cheaper fossil fuel products.”

Garnaut is also optimistic that “strong bipartisan support for good policy on energy and climate in all the states” will provide a foundation for a national shift. “The dysfunction is in the commonwealth parliament,” he will say.

“In the zero-carbon economy, Australia is the economically natural location to produce a substantial proportion of the products currently made with large carbon emissions in Northeast Asia and Europe,” he will say in his speech. “So not only are we looking after the prosperity of Australians, we’re making it more likely that the world will succeed in dealing with the problem of climate change.”

Garnaut will dismiss the view that imposing a levy on the finances of the fossil industry creates “sovereign risk” for the investments.

“Was it sovereign risk when the coal and gas industry and others funded the political campaigns that led to the abolition of carbon pricing?” Garnaut will say. “That was a huge change of arrangement that fundamentally changed the business prospects of a lot of investments made in expectation of legislated arrangements continuing.

“There’s been expectation of constraints on carbon dioxide emissions … for 23 years.

“Anyone who does not anticipate what is good or necessary policy coming in at some time hasn’t absorbed any of the reality around them.

“In the end political judgments will have to be made about whether restoration of rising income standards … and productivity growth and prosperity for the Australian people are more important than preserving the profitability of the oil and gas companies.”

Wednesday’s speech will also call on the federal government to revise its new capital investment scheme that would support 23 gigawatts of new solar and windfarms and 9GW of additional storage such as batteries.

The current auction proposal to lure investors by promising a minimum generation price could cost the budget heavily and “drift into central planning”, he will say. Instead, the commonwealth could underwrite 80% of the costs of a project and rake in 40% of the profits once the investor has got their money back.

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• Australian red meat industry’s net zero target based on land-clearing data that is ‘not reliable’

Meat and Livestock Australia says it has reduced emissions by 65% on 2005 levels but data analysis suggests figures underpinning claim are ‘erroneous’

Greenhouse gas reduction figures celebrated by Australia’s red meat industry are based on unreliable land-clearing data and could be erroneous, an independent analysis has found.

In Queensland, where roughly 44% of the national cattle herd grazes and the majority of land clearing has occurred, the Statewide Landcover and Tree Study (Slats) has recorded deforestation at almost twice the rate of the national system used to calculate emissions on the red meat industry.

In an analysis of both systems, Martin Taylor, a former conservation scientist with WWF Australia and now adjunct senior lecturer at the University of Queensland, found the national carbon accounting system (NCAS) may be significantly underreporting deforestation in the state.

“It’s good Meat and Livestock Australia is attempting to reduce their emissions but it has to be based on reliable data,” Taylor said. “We can’t be building stories on data that analysis suggests is erroneous.”

MLA has widely publicised a 65% reduction in emissions compared with 2005 levels. Nearly 90% of the industry’s emissions are associated with the production and processing of beef cattle.

Taylor’s latest report, released in December, analysed satellite data from 2018-19 and 20219-20 and concluded deforestation in Queensland is 36-62% higher than NCAS reporting. These findings are yet to be peer reviewed.

“The reported decline in red meat industry emissions is almost totally due to declining deforestation and rising regeneration reported in the national greenhouse accounts,” Taylor said. “So if those accounts are not reliable and under-report deforestation it throws the industry claim into doubt.”

According to the source of MLA’s claim – a 2022 CSIRO report based on NCAS data – decreasing deforestation means land managed by the sector has become a net carbon sink.

The report found that land cleared to make way for grazing pastures emitted 87 megatonnes of CO2 across Australia in 2005. But in 2020, increasing forest regrowth offset land-clearing emissions, and land managed by the industry – which equates to half Australia’s land mass – sequestered one tonne of CO2 from atmosphere in total.

The author of the CSIRO report, Dr Brad Ridoutt, said the data used to produce the figure had “significant potential for uncertainty” but is consistent and retrospectively updated as the NCAS becomes more accurate.

“The national figures are not based on laboratory samples, they are based on models,” he said.

Dr Beverley Henry from the University of Technology Queensland said the industry’s recorded decrease in emissions since 2005 was largely due to the introduction of stricter environmental laws and lessening economic incentives to clear increasingly marginal land, rather than any sector-led initiatives.

“When they publish their emission reductions land-use changes should be separated out,” Henry said.

If changes in land use were excluded from the sector’s emissions accounting, greenhouse gases would have been just 11% lower in 2020 compared with 2005 levels; though Ridoutt’s report found this was mostly due to a reduction in livestock numbers.

Since 2020, the size of the national beef cattle herd has increased by roughly 2 million, returning to similar levels seen in 2005.

In the early 1990s, Henry assisted in building the land-use emissions component of the NCAS. Later she worked in the Queensland Slats team.

She said that while the veracity of both systems has improved over time, Queensland’s state system measures changes in tree cover more accurately. However, she added that the NCAS system is based on standardised accounting set by the United Nations and should be used.

“If we are going to have credibility it is appropriate to use data consistent with these accounts,” she said. “But its accuracy at any location is a different question.”

Separating land-clearing data in the industry’s marketing material would provide a more accurate picture of their own sustainability efforts, she said.

“I think increasing the efficiency of production is very worthwhile for a whole lot of reasons and will lead to lower emissions per kilogram of meat,” she said. “But I don’t believe, based on what we know now, it is possible for the industry to become carbon neutral.”

Last week, MLA said their self-imposed target is “not necessarily something that needs to be met”, although it has since reaffirmed its commitment to reaching the goal.

The director of the Australian National University Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, Mark Howden, said the 2005 baseline is a convenient choice to demonstrate greenhouse gas reductions.

“Generally speaking, that period around 2005-07 was peak emissions from land-use change [due to land clearing],” he said. “When you’re at peak emissions, there is only one way to go, and that’s down.”

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• Bold emission target laws introduced in Queensland

Laws to legislate bold increased emissions reduction targets have been introduced by the Queensland government.

Steven Miles announced when becoming premier in December he would move the Sunshine State's emissions goalposts even further over the next decade.

Mr Miles on Wednesday took the first step when he tabled legislation that commits the state to a 75 per cent reduction target by 2035.

The existing goals of 30 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050 remain.

The premier said the landmark plan would chart Queensland away from fossil fuels and towards renewable alternatives.

He said decarbonising Queensland's economy was critical, citing future projects such as the world's largest pumped hydro scheme in the northern Pioneer-Burdekin region.

"We're progressing major wind projects like the Wambo and MacIntyre wind farms so we can power even more Queensland homes with cheaper, cleaner renewable energy," he said.

The government is also forging ahead with a $5 billion plan to link the mineral-rich northwest with the national grid via a high voltage line from Townsville.

The Copperstring project is set to provide more affordable power to companies mining vast deposits of copper, zinc, lead, silver and phosphates and rare earths needed to make smartphones and renewable energy parts.

The enormous infrastructure project has bipartisan support.

Mr Miles said these projects and more renewable alternatives in the pipeline would cut energy prices, with the economic benefits passed on to Queenslanders.

"I am proud of the work we are doing to preserve Queensland's environment for the next generation to reduce our emissions contribution to slow climate change and power Queensland on the sun, wind and water we have in abundance," he said.

The government's emission target has been welcomed by environmentalists who' have called for its bipartisan support.

"We call on Queensland's opposition leader David Crisafulli to match this target to lock in a bipartisan approach and boost the LNP's credibility on climate heading into an election year," said Australian Conservation Foundation's Gavan McFadzean.

In the midst of a renewables push, the government has also continued with fossil fuel approvals in central Queensland's Bowen Basin.

The Vulcan South coal mine had been issued an approval by the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation in January with environmentalists calling on federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to intervene.

Habitats for koalas, the endangered greater glider, the vulnerable glossy black cockatoo and squatter pigeon are at risk should the project go ahead.

The Queensland government last week granted approvals for an open-cut metallurgical and thermal coal mine expected to emit 583 million tonnes of carbon emissions, also in the Bowen Basin.

The state's co-ordinator-general recommended Winchester South proceed in November before the department approved the environmental authority application for Whitehaven's mine.

Environmentalists have also called on Ms Plibersek to intervene in its approval.

Methane levels produced by Winchester South put both the 2035 targets and 2050 net zero targets at risk, the Queensland Conservation Council said.

Winchester South has a proposed 30-year life and is expected to mine a combined 17 million tonnes of thermal and metallurgical coal per year.

• Related news: Queensland Greens hit out at Labor ‘hypocrisy’ for approving two coalmines

But the government has since approved the Vulcan South and Winchester South coal mines which are now seeking federal government approval before they can go ahead.

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• Woodside dramatically expands oil and gas exploration spend despite net zero pledge

Australia’s largest oil and gas producer, Woodside Energy, has expanded its focus on fossil fuel exploration and increased its direct greenhouse gas pollution since announcing it had an “aspiration” of reaching net zero emissions.

Woodside’s spending on looking for new oil and gas reserves was $160m in 2019 and dipped to $96m in 2021 – a year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic – before rising to $418m in 2022, according to a report by the Australian Conservation Foundation.

The jump was largely due to the company taking over BHP’s global oil and gas assets in mid 2022, and came after the company said it aspired to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

The goal covers only its “scope 1” and “scope 2” emissions – those from its operations and in generating the electricity it uses. Woodside said in 2022 it had cut them by 11%, compared with the average between 2016 and 2020.

The conservation foundation’s report, released on Monday, said the claimed emissions cut was based on the company buying contentious carbon offsets, mostly investing in land-based conservation projects. The carbon pollution released into the atmosphere from its operations increased by 3%.

The report said the aspirational target did not cover 92% of Woodside’s contribution to the climate crisis because it ignored the “scope 3” emissions released when the company’s customers, mostly in north Asia, burned the oil and gas it extracted and produced.

The foundation’s corporate environmental performance analyst, Audrey van Herwaarden, accused Woodside of greenwashing by claiming it was reducing climate pollution while expanding its fossil fuel plans. “Net zero greenwashing poses a serious risk to humanity’s ability to tackle global warming, as it distracts from and delays concrete and credible action,” she said.

Woodside’s expansion plans include developing the Scarborough and Browse gas fields off the northern Western Australian coast and extending the life of its North West Shelf gas processing facility on the Burrup peninsula until 2070. Its “growth projects” also include oil developments in Senegal and the Gulf of Mexico.

“we need to take climate change very seriously”

• Radio interview - 3AW Drive

FELGATE: Now, we've had a really unusual summer, I think, right around the country, but particularly here in Victoria. Started extremely wet and now we've got these extreme heat conditions. Are we, as a nation, prepared?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that the science told us that our climate was going to change and was changing and we've certainly seen that. There's been two different cyclone type events in Far North Queensland. You've had flooding on the Gold Coast. You've had fires in Western Australia. I was in Perth on the weekend and into the early part of this week, it was 43 degrees and the heat was quite extraordinary. The morning before last, we did a press conference at 8:30am and frankly, no one could stand not under shade at that time. So, it is a concern. It's one of the reasons why we need to take climate change very seriously and why we need to be a part of that global action. But as well, quite clearly, I met with the Australians of the Year yesterday and they are experts, of course, in finding cures to cancer, literally, particularly melanoma. And those lessons, one of the things that they said to me is that it is more important now than ever before that the slap on sunscreen and put on a hat and all that sort of care of staying out of the sun. They point out that a suntan is really just cells that are in distress and that we need to get away from the idea that a tan is so called healthy, which has been part of our culture. Certainly when I was growing up, that was the case. And we just need to, I think, as a community, as a society, talk about how we respond to the changes in our weather.

https://www.pm.gov.au/media/radio-interview-3aw-drive

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• Snowy Hydro’s 2.0 fortunes might finally be turning as drilling gets back on track

Each year on 4 December, Snowy Hydro invites a local Catholic priest to bless a small statue at the entrance to the tunnels of its giant 2.0 pumped hydro project to mark Saint Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers and miners everywhere.

Those working underground are “reasonably superstitious people”, jokes Dennis Barnes, Snowy Hydro’s affable chief executive, as he leads a media tour of a project whose budget had soared sixfold to $12bn and won’t start supplying power to the grid until the end of 2028 or seven years later than original touted.

The Tantangara dam Snowy Hydro 2.0 site, where a tunnel boring machine hit soft ground in 2022 and was unable to continue.TBM Florence has tunnelled only 150 metres and is at a depth of 30 metres.A sinkhole has appeared in the ground above Florence, which has halted tunneling operations at this site in the Snowy Mountains. Tuesday 30th May 2023. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Story on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme by Peter Hannam. Guardian Australia.

The 2,500-tonne tunnel boring machine dubbed “Florence” ended its year-long stall in soft rock two days after the priestly visit from Father Mark Croker. It’s now picking up pace half a kilometre into a 16km tunnel near the upper dam at Tantangara, deep within the Snowy Mountains.

“Florence not moving was a lightning rod for the project … having its difficulties,” Barnes said at end of Wednesday’s tour. “All of the other work fronts just kept going when Florence was paused.”

Barnes, who took over as Snowy’s boss a year ago, also recast the deal with Italy’s WeBuild, the main contractor, making it “cost-plus” rather than a fixed price. While the move shifted most of the risk to Snowy, it ended the haggling “on every point”.

“We want everybody to be successful,” he said. “We want the contractor to be very successful.” Having WeBuild losing money “just isn’t a great place for anybody”.

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• Origin expands energy footprint across regional NSW

Origin Energy has expanded its footprint across regional NSW with the acquisition of a renewable energy developer.

Origin on Tuesday announced the purchase of Walcha Energy and its proposed Ruby Hills Wind Farm and Salisbury Solar Farm projects, which would bring more than 1300 megawatts of capacity to the electricity grid.

"The acquisition of Walcha Energy is consistent with Origin's ambition to lead the energy transition," head of energy supply and operations Greg Jarvis said.

The deal at an undisclosed cost follows the 2023 purchase of nearby sheep and beef property Warrane, and increases Origin's interests in the state government's New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

"Origin's portfolio now includes several projects with promising wind and solar resources within the New England REZ, close to recently published transmission line investigation routes," Mr Jarvis said.

The proposed Salisbury project is about 10km south of Uralla, while Ruby Hills is 10km west of Walcha, in the southern part of the zone.

A lease arrangement was in place at Warrane to maintain and manage the property as an ongoing farm, which would continue during the development of a new project - the Northern Tablelands Wind Farm, Origin said.

The company said the immediate focus would be on engaging with landowners and the local community, and completing technical studies.

Local federal MP, the Nationals' Barnaby Joyce, is leading opposition to new energy projects and transmission lines in the area, saying he represents regional concerns.

But many farmers enjoy extra revenue from leasing land for wind turbines and solar panels to be installed, which provides an alternative income stream.

Origin has committed $1 billion to develop two large-scale batteries at the Eraring and Mortlake power stations, which located alongside existing high-voltage lines.

The company is also eyeing potential offshore wind projects in Victoria and off the Hunter coast in NSW.

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• New Australian environment laws would not stop widespread deforestation, organisations say

New national environment laws being developed by the Albanese government fail to address systemic flaws in the existing system and would continue to allow widespread deforestation, according to three organisations familiar with the plans.

Officials representing the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, have been sharing sections of draft conservation laws to be introduced this year in consultation meetings with conservation, business and other groups.

Three organisations involved in the meetings said the draft legislation did not go far enough to stop large-scale deforestation for agriculture and mining developments, or explicitly reference the need to halt the decline in threatened species, which has accelerated.

In a statement ahead of the latest consultation meeting on Thursday, Environmental Justice Australia, the Wilderness Society and Environment Centre Northern Territory called for the introduction of a “land-clearing trigger” so developments that planned to bulldoze significant pieces of land had to be assessed by federal authorities, and not left to the states and territories.

The organisations welcomed the government’s commitment to establish Environment Protection Australia – a national EPA – but said they were concerned after seeing the drafts that the environment minister of the day had discretion to “call in” decisions that should be left to independent experts at the EPA.

Danya Jacobs, a lawyer with Environmental Justice Australia, said the proposed legislation risked continuing a decades-long practice of environment being “undermined by political interference from the mining, logging, and agricultural sectors”.

“One of our primary concerns is around the potential for important decisions to be influenced by political agendas rather than scientific evidence,” she said.

Jacobs said the draft laws were silent on land-clearing. “It’s just not good enough. We’re in an extinction crisis and Australia is a deforestation hotspot,” she said.

The executive director of the Environment Centre NT, Kristy Howey, said a lack of federal oversight over land-clearing had resulted in NT’s savannah being bulldozed for cotton farming, other agriculture and mining. “The Albanese government has talked a big game when it comes to fixing the nature crisis, but as they currently stand the new laws won’t fix the rampant land clearing happening across Australia.”

A spokesperson for Plibersek said the government was undertaking a thorough consultation on what would be “strong new environment laws”, and that feedback from environment and business groups would be considered.

The three organisations’ concerns are consistent with some of those raised by nine environment groups in a letter to Plibersek in September. Community groups including Lock the Gate have previously called for the inclusion of a “climate lever” – wording that would allow the minister to consider a development’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions – and criticised a proposal that could allow projects to go ahead in return for proponents making “restoration payments”. The groups described this as a “pay to destroy” scheme.

The new laws are intended to replace the 25-year-old Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Plibersek promised sweeping law reform shortly after taking on the environment ministry in 2022. She released a five-yearly national state of the environment report that found Australia’s environment was in poor and deteriorating health, with at least 19 ecosystems showing signs of collapse or near collapse.

• Global heating pushes coral reefs towards worst planet-wide mass bleaching on record

Global heating has pushed the world’s coral reefs to a fourth planet-wide mass bleaching event that is on track to be the most extensive on record, US government scientists have confirmed.

Some 54% of ocean waters containing coral reefs have experienced heat stress high enough to cause bleaching, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch said.

A global bleaching event is declared when at least 12% of corals in each of the main ocean basins – Pacific, Atlantic and Indian – experience bleaching-level heat stress within a 12-month period. The declaration also requires confirmed reports of bleaching.

Coral Reef Watch also confirmed the world’s largest coral reef system – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – had been through its most widespread heat stress event on record in 2024.

The first global bleaching event happened in 1998 with 20% of the ocean’s reef corals exposed to a level of heat stress high enough to cause bleaching. The second event, in 2010, saw 35% reaching that threshold, and the third from 2014 to 2017 peaked at 56%.

Dr Derek Manzello, the Coral Reef Watch director, told the Guardian the current bleaching was likely to surpass the previous most widespread event soon “because the percentage of reef areas experiencing bleaching-level heat stress has been increasing by roughly 1% per week”.

NOAA’s threshold for the onset of bleaching relates to the amount of accumulated heat corals are facing at any given time, known as degree heating weeks (DHWs).

For example, a 1 DHW is accumulated if corals are subjected to temperatures 1C above the usual maximum for seven days. Coral Reef Watch considers 4 DHWs as a bleaching threshold.

Coral reefs are rich in biodiversity and provide habitat to a quarter of all marine species while covering less than 1% of ocean area. Reefs provide food and tourism income to millions of people and protect coastlines, but are considered to be one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to global heating.

The current global event started in early 2023 and in the northern hemisphere summer reefs across the Americas bleached from record levels of heat stress.

Mass bleaching has been confirmed throughout the tropics, NOAA said, including Florida, the Caribbean, Brazil, many countries across the south Pacific, the Middle East and in parts of the Indian Ocean from Indonesia’s west coast to reefs off east Africa.

Prolonged and severe bleaching can kill corals, but if temperatures fall quickly enough the animals can recover. Research has found previously bleached corals find it harder to reproduce and can be more susceptible to disease after bleaching.

Manzello said global heating had combined with a global El Niño to push up sea surface temperatures. He said predictions made by scientists decades ago about the fate of corals in a warming world were now coming to pass.

“The bottom line is that as coral reefs experience more frequent and severe bleaching events, the time they have to recover is becoming shorter and shorter. Current climate models suggest that every reef on planet Earth will experience severe, annual bleaching sometime between 2040 and 2050.”

Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a pioneer of coral research who was among the first to link bleaching to global heating, said: “It’s a shock. We clearly have to prevent governments from investing in fossil fuels, or we won’t have a chance in hell [to save reefs].”

Prof Tracy Ainsworth, the vice-president of the International Coral Reef Society, said the bleaching had extended to some of the most remote places on earth.

“Globally we are failing to protect coral reefs and the communities that rely upon them. This is neglect on a global scale,” Ainsworth said.

The Great Barrier Reef is now suffering its fifth mass bleaching in eight years. Coral Reef Watch data shows 80% of the reef was subjected to bleaching-level heat stress in 2024, the highest extent on record and above the previous high of 60% seen in 2017.

Dr Roger Beeden, the chief scientist at the Australian government’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said it was more important than ever to see global action on climate change.

• First Nations woman one of seven global winners of prestigious Goldman prize for environmental activism

For Murrawah Johnson, the impacts of the climate crisis and the destruction of land to mine the fossil fuels that drive it are more than simple questions of atmospheric physics or environmental harm.

“What colonisation hasn’t already done, climate change will do in terms of finalising the assimilation process for First Nations people,” the 29-year-old Wirdi woman from Queensland says.

“[It is] totally destroying our ability to maintain a cultural identity, cultural existence and to be able to pass that on.”

Johnson is one of seven global winners of the prestigious Goldman prize for environmental activism – described as the Nobel for the environment movement - announced at a ceremony in San Francisco.

She’s honoured, she says, to be in the company of campaigners who waged many of Australia’s most influential environmental battles, from blocking sandmining on K’gari to fighting uranium mining in Kakadu and saving Tasmania’s Franklin River from damming – a campaign that led to the formation of the Australian Greens.

Johnson is recognised for her role as a co-director of Youth Verdict – a group that won a landmark legal case in Queensland to block a major coalmine backed by the mining magnate and politician Clive Palmer.

Palmer’s Waratah Coal planned to dig up a nature refuge to mine and sell about 40m tonnes of coal a year from the Galilee basin.

Youth Verdict secured the first “on country” hearing in Queensland’s land court to hear evidence from Indigenous people.

But the case was also the first to test the state’s new Human Rights Act, successfully arguing that the emissions from burning the coal would limit the rights of First Nations people.

Waratah Coal withdrew its appeal last February and, two months later, the Queensland government blocked the mine.

But Johnson, a mother of one with a second child on the way, had already been campaigning for the rights of her people against the climate crisis and fossil fuels for almost a decade.

Johnson was a youth spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou family council that had fought unsuccessfully against the development of one of Australia’s most controversial resource projects, Adani’s Carmichael coalmine.

She remembers a community meeting in front of Adani’s lawyers and hundreds of Indigenous people in 2014 when she was asked to speak to represent young people after those gathered were handed an “information package” about the project.

“I was 19 at the time and I said, ‘Where’s the environmental impact statement?’ – is there anything about the environmental impacts,” she says.

“You want us to make a decision to essentially give our consent to this project but you’re withholding the facts of the impacts to our country.”

Johnson has always been surrounded by strong Indigenous advocates in her family.

The fight to avert the climate crisis, she says, is a clear continuation of Indigenous Australians’ battle for recognition and the ownership of their land and retention of their culture, stories and totems.

“This is really about course-correcting the injustice that’s been done to us starting from the declaration of terra nullius and understanding that there’s still a way to be a productive and economically viable society that doesn’t depend on destroying country, dispossessing people of their land and their culture – homogenising people and putting the rest of the world at threat.”

As well as the direct physical impacts of resources projects – such as mines damaging sacred sites or sea level rise inundating burial grounds – Johnson says the effects of climate change on the fabric of Indigenous beliefs can be profound.

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• Rooftop solar growth nears record levels, led by Queensland and commercial installs

Australian rooftop solar market growth is tracking more than 7 per cent ahead of the same time last year, with another 261MW of panels installed by homes and businesses in the month of April.

According to the latest data from industry analysts SunWiz, an early Easter long weekend that started in March has meant a better than usual April for installs, a month that typically sees a sharp downturn due to public and school holidays.

Instead, the registration of 261MW of new rooftop solar was not far off a record level for April, which like many other rooftop solar records for Australia was set in the bumper year of 2021.

“Each year we observe a significant contraction in April, largely attributable to the Easter and ANZAC Day holidays,” SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston says.

“This year Easter straddled March and April, meaning …March’s volumes were dampened below what they would typically be, [while] April’s downturn was modest compared to typical years. …Overall the volumes are 7% ahead of last year.”

Leading the installs in April was the commercial rooftop solar sector, with the best growth found to be in the 15-30kW segment, while installs in the 10-15kW segment held steady.

On a state-by-state basis, there was a bit of a changing of the guard in terms of where the most rooftop PV was being installed.

Johnston notes that while New South Wales and Victorian volumes dropped back – by 7% and 5% respectively – Queensland and South Australia grew by 6% and 3%, respectively.

Johnston says attendees at the Brisbane Solar and Storage conference this week noted a healthier atmosphere for small solar in the Sunshine State.

“In April Queensland recovered all the ground lost in its March contraction, but Victoria slid further. All of these changes are just in the single digits,” he says.

“NSW had the most significant contraction in April, part of which may relate to being the sole major state that grew in March.”

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• NSW to announce life extension of Eraring, Australia’s largest coal-fired power station

The New South Wales government will announce within days that it will extend the operations of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station for as long as four more years.

The decision involves providing taxpayer subsidies to Origin Energy’s Eraring power station for two years with permits to run for two more, according to several people who have been briefed on the plans.

The cost of the subsidies is due to be discussed by the Minns government’s expenditure review committee soon. Environmental groups and local MPs were also due to be briefed on the plans later this week and prior to 10 May.

Unlike most of its competitors, Origin does not have long-term contracts for the four-unit plant. The subsidy would be aimed at capping the price of coal but may also extend to other aspects of the plant’s operations including an expansion of its coal-ash dams.

Federal Labor MPs rebel over government gas strategy, 'blindsided' by policy 'championing' fossil fuels

Several Labor MPs are speaking out against the government's new gas policy, which sets out a plan for further investment and a life for gas "through to 2050 and beyond".

Among the backbench unrest are claims MPs were "blindsided" by the Future Gas Strategy announced on Thursday.

Six backbenchers have told the ABC the government should be speeding up the transition away from fossil fuels, not prolonging their life.

Assistant Minister Ged Kearney has also stated that no more public money should be spent on new gas or coal projects.

"We cannot draw out our reliance on fossil fuels any longer than is necessary," Ms Kearney said.

The Future Gas Strategy sets out the government's intentions to prevent energy supply shortfalls by working with the states and industry to speed up gas projects.

The government states new sources of gas will be needed to supply energy into the future, with the resources minister saying it would remain "an important source of energy through to 2050 and beyond".

It states that gas will be needed in sectors like manufacturing and minerals processing at least until viable alternatives are available.

Labor MP for Higgins Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah said the announcement caught her by surprise.

"I feel like I was blindsided by this announcement and would have preferred more consultation to improve my understanding of gas in our future energy mix," she said.

"However nothing is preordained, the predictions in the gas strategy are entirely dependent on the decisions we make in this defining decade and I would urge all Australians to put their shoulder to the wheel when it comes to our energy transition."

Second-term MP Kate Thwaites said the policy could have been better handled.

"Frustration I think is about the fact that the way it's been handled and presented does not reflect the work the government is doing," she said.

"The focus has to be on the transition to renewable energy not prolonging fossil fuels and that's where my focus is."

Resources Minister Madeleine King's statement that gas would remain to 2050 and beyond has raised particular concern among MPs.

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Labor’s gas strategy: what is it and why do critics call it ‘Back to the Future’?

The Albanese government has finally released its gas strategy, which sets out the “guiding principles” for how the government will approach the use of gas and the approval of new gasfields in the medium and long term.

The main takeaway? Gas will remain a central part of Australia’s energy and export sectors to 2050 and beyond, with the government backing the energy source as the key to transitioning the energy sector and economy.

The strategy, released by the resources minister, Madeleine King, on Thursday, received almost universal condemnation from environment and climate groups, which say it is a revival of the Morrison era “gas-led recovery” plan. The critics argue Labor’s strategy will lead to more emissions, not less. It has been labelled a betrayal of the Pacific and Australia’s climate aims.

The government says gas will play a “critical” role in the transition to renewable energy and will act as an affordable energy source in the meantime. It says natural gas is a key part of the Future made in Australia plan, which sets out a roadmap for the nation’s manufacturing and energy sectors. But it is not all smooth sailing within the Labor caucus, with some backbenchers, like Josh Burns and Jerome Laxale, within hours speaking out against the expansion of fossil fuel projects including gas.

The strategy

The government says the gas strategy has six “principles” to guide how future projects are assessed.

1. Australia’s net zero 2050 target remains in place so gas production “must be abated or offset to achieve this economy-wide commitment”.
2. Gas must remain affordable, so future gas rights contracts “should prioritise timely development and discourage repeated delays” – meaning that those who hold the contracts will not be allowed to sit on them.
3. New gasfields must be found and opened “to meet demand during the economy-wide transition”. This is already being encouraged by the federal government but will be expedited.
4. Gas use will eventually shift to industries and sectors where transitioning to renewables is either not yet technologically feasible or cost-effective, while the rest of the economy transitions to renewable energy. However, “households will continue to have a choice over how their energy needs are met”. States like Victoria are already shifting away from domestic gas.
5. Gas and electricity markets must adapt to remain “fit for purpose throughout the energy transformation”, which means finding cleaner and more affordable ways to upgrade existing infrastructure.
6. LNG – liquefied natural gas – will remain a key export market for Australia with plans to expand the amount of gas Australia sells overseas.

What does it all mean?

Much more in the link above

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Extras

Plan to pump CO2 from Millmerran power station into Great Artesian Basin unlikely to get approval

Opponents of a controversial plan to store waste carbon dioxide in Australia's biggest underground freshwater system say state government approval will be difficult after the Queensland premier labelled the project "not a good idea".

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New Vehicle Efficiency Standard must be backed by accountability

The Climate Council is calling for data collected through the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard on manufacturers’ vehicle imports to be published by the government, delivering real transparency on how automakers are meeting the scheme’s new pollution caps.

Right now, the only way to find out the types of vehicles that car manufacturers are bringing to Australia is to pay the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries thousands of dollars for access to its VFACTS database. With this industry group having fanatically opposed the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, these foxes cannot continue guarding the henhouse when the standard comes into effect.

Climate Council Head of Policy and Advocacy, Dr Jennifer Rayner, said: “We want manufacturers to do the right thing and bring in a better range of low and zero emissions cars for Aussies to buy. So we need to know if they keep selling their same old gas guzzlers that are fueling the climate crisis and driving up petrol bills.

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National Active Transport Fund scores $100M

The Federal Government is investing $100 million in a new national Active Transport Fund that is set to upgrade and deliver new bicycle and walking paths.

This will support zero emissions travel, provide a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians, and promote active and liveable communities.

• An Australian-made New Vehicle Efficiency Standard

Australian motorists will soon be able to choose from a wider range of cleaner, cheaper to run cars with the Parliament passing the legislation for the Albanese Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.

This is good news for the hip pocket and for the environment.

Car makers now have an incentive to send us their most efficient vehicles, while ensuring Australians have access to the range of vehicles they need for work and leisure.

The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard will reduce emissions from new passenger vehicles by more than 60 per cent by 2030, and roughly halve the emissions of new light commercial vehicles over the same period.

Motorists are predicted to save around $95 billion in fuel alone by 2050 and over the same period, transport sector CO2 emissions by are expected to be reduced by around 321 million tonnes.

Australia is joining most of the global car market in having a Standard, as a result Australian family will have more options to spend less on fuel.

https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen...iency-standard

Little extra……..

Car rules could help Aussies catch up in electric race

Rules that will see Australian drivers offered more efficient and less polluting vehicles over the next five years have been welcomed by environmental and motoring groups despite earlier clashes over the legislation.

The Labor government's proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard passed the parliament on Thursday with the support of the Greens, following two public consultations and two years of debate over its content.

But while environmental and motoring groups welcomed the change and its potential to bring Australian regulations in line with the rest of the world, some warned challenges would lie ahead including securing compliant vehicles and further government and corporate investments.

The standard will set emission targets for vehicles from 2025, with penalties in place for automakers whose fleets fall short of the limits or which fail to trade credits with other car brands.

Australia had been one of the only developed nations without a standard in place, alongside Russia.

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the rules would tell the world's car makers that Australia would no longer accept outdated, high-polluting vehicles rejected by other nations.

"This move sends a clear signal to the global automotive industry: Australia now demands the same options in electric cars, vans and utes that you offer to the US and Europe," he said.

"Australian drivers will benefit from access to a greater choice of vehicles, lower fuel bills and real costs to emissions."

Greenpeace Asia Pacific climate and energy head Joe Rafalowicz said the standard would also make a significant impact on the amount of air pollution produced in Australia.

"(It) means 80 million tonnes less carbon pollution from cars will enter the atmosphere by 2035," he said.

"That is the same as the entire state of Victoria emits in a year."
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• Australia’s 2024 Federal Budget

Winners and Losers

Winner

Renewable energy manufacturing businesses

The government wants to boost local manufacturing of solar panels and bolster the green hydrogen industry.

Local solar panel manufacturers will have access to subsidies, grants and other supports, as will local battery manufacturing operations, as the government spends $1.5bn on boosting the country’s capability and resilience against supply chain disruptions from countries such as China, which controls about four-fifths of the global solar panel market.

The government has also allocated $6.7bn over the next 10 years on a Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive, which will pay $2 a kilogram of locally produced renewable hydrogen from 2027-28.

This of course all comes alongside the government’s flagship Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund, so it’s broadly a good budget for local manufacturing.

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• Top Eco Groups Applaud Offshore Oil Bill Amendment

Australia's peak state and territory environmental bodies today welcomed the agreement between the Greens and the Albanese government to amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill 2024 by removing

The legislation as initially proposed would have effectively granted the offshore oil and gas industry a free pass from national environmental laws.

The Bill has been widely condemned by members of the crossbench and the environmental movement.

They warned that the bill could pave the way to diminished rights to consultation for the community, First Nations people, and environment groups, as well as reducing environmental protections and oversight of the hazardous offshore oil and gas industry.

Jess Beckerling, Executive Director of The Conservation Council of Western Australia, said:

"Today's win for the community is a victory against ongoing attempts to fast-track gas industry approvals and silence First Nations voices.

"This massive response, led by First Nations leaders, ensures that communities continue to have a voice about what happens in our country. This is good news for our climate and our environment, and we now turn our collective attention to the government's dangerous Future Gas Strategy."

Jacqui Mumford, Nature Conservation Council of NSW said:

"This is a win for climate, nature and the community.

"The initial proposal bypassed environmental laws and First Nations voices, displaced the role of the Environment Minister, and dramatically weakened oversight and accountability."

Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of the Environment Centre NT, said:

"This win shows that the community - led by First Nations leaders - has the power to overcome insidious vested fossil fuel interests. However, the work is far from over. The Albanese Government must abandon its climate-wrecking Future Gas Strategy once and for all, and put an end to the approval of new fossil fuel projects in this country."

Jono La Nauze, CEO of Environment Victoria said:

"With this change, the Environment Minister will retain oversight of offshore oil and gas assessment and regulation, but much more needs to be done to respect the rights of Traditional Owners and end Australia's massive exports of climate pollution."

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• Post-mining world set for NSW government microscope

Mining sites and how they can be used after they are shut down are going under a NSW parliament microscope.

Advanced manufacturing, clean energy initiatives and commercial and tourism use are some ideas floated for the post-mining world.

A state government inquiry will look at NSW's more than 50 large active mine sites, of which 37 are coal mines.

It follows March's announcement that Lake Macquarie's Rhondda Colliery mine site will be turned into a $95 million motorsport complex, which the government says has created 450 construction jobs.

NSW Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos said the Black Rock Motor Resort was an example of how mining land can be turned into new opportunities.

"Mining is a temporary use of land … we need to make sure NSW has the right policy mix to keep employment and economic opportunities even after mines close," she said in a statement.

"This is an important inquiry … we need to make sure these large mine sites can continue to be put to economically productive and efficient use long into the future."

Other coal mines, including in Muswellbrook and Stratford, are being targeted for pumped hydro and other clean energy usage.

The inquiry will look at how land use after mines are shut down is split between communities and operators.

It will also examine how workers will need to reskill and be retrained.

Labor MP Emily Suvaal, who lives in Cessnock, said ensuring "secure, well-paid, local jobs" was a priority.

"Exploring how we can improve the use of post-mining land is crucial for the continued success of our rural and regional communities, who have contributed so much to our state's success," she said in a statement.

Part 1 of 2

Queensland rejects Glencore carbon capture and storage proposal for Great Artesian Basin

The Queensland government has rejected a controversial carbon capture and storage (CCS) proposal to inject CO2 from a coal-fired power station into the Great Artesian Basin.

Swiss mining company Glencore was awaiting the Queensland government’s approval of a pilot scheme to inject 330,000 tonnes of liquified CO2 into an aquifer about 2.3km underground in southern Queensland.

But in its assessment of the proposal’s environmental impact statement, the state department of environment found the project could not proceed due to potential “irreversible or long-term change to groundwater quality”.

The Great Artesian Basin is one of the biggest underground water sources in the world.

A spokesperson from the Queensland department of environment said the aquifer where Glencore proposed to store the Co2 was “not confined”, meaning that once injected, it could migrate to other aquifers and cause an increase in concentrations of contaminants including lead and arsenic.

“The departments final decision … makes it clear that other carbon capture and storage projects will not be viable in the Great Artesian Basin,” the spokesperson said.

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New rules for NSW polluters to require ‘credible’ plan for mitigating climate impact

New coalmines, gas fields and other big sources of greenhouse gases in New South Wales will need to provide more rigorous plans to minimise pollution and reduce carbon emissions before they are approved, under new rules imposed on Monday.

Revised assessment requirements and guidelines from the Environment Protection Authority mark a “foundational” tightening of rules for firms planning new projects or modifying existing ones that emit at least 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, said Tony Chappel, the NSW EPA chief executive.

“It’s one step but it’s an important one,” Chappel said. “It brings the assessment of climate impacts front and centre into the planning process in a way that should be clear and transparent for the community and for industry.”

Developers’ environmental impact statements in the past had often been “using emission factors which have been found to be significantly inaccurate”, he said, adding that independent third-party verification will be needed “every step of the way”.

“We can’t regulate if we don’t have clarity of the data,” Chappel said. “We can’t have the data if the proponent isn’t doing the rigorous work on making that available.”

Firms will also have to demonstrate how they’ve “seriously and credibly worked through what pollution they can avoid, what they can mitigate, and what they can abate before they then look at offsets”, he said.

Along with most other states and the commonwealth, NSW has set goals to cut carbon emissions to limit climate impacts. Its own data shows it is currently not on target.

The Minns Labor government is also expected to soon reveal plans to extend the life of Eraring, Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station. A report by the energy market operator this week is expected to warn of potential blackouts if the plant owner, Origin Energy, proceeds with the August 2025 scheduled closure.

The draft rules, which take effect on Monday ahead of an expected six-week consultation period, will be followed by industry emissions targets and then progressively imposed on all firms covered by EPA licences, Chappel said.

“Any major polluter is captured through an existing environment protection licence but they don’t currently deal with greenhouse gases,” he said. “They will need to develop what we call climate mitigation and adaptation plans.”

Those plans will also need to include how firms will “improve their resilience to the escalating climate extremes that will be with us for at least the next few decades”, he said.

The EPA will press sectors to reduce emissions and improve efficiency “rather than going straight to offsets as the silver bullet”, Chappel said.

“There’s lots of available technologies across the economy that are already being deployed at scale,” he said, listing biofuels and renewable energy, among others. “Those opportunities need to be a real focus for any operation before it comes to thinking about what’s the role of offset.

‘“The world can’t offset its way out of these issues. We also have to reduce our emissions,” he said.

2 of 2

Should Australia go nuclear? Why Peter Dutton's plan could be an atomic failure

CSIRO says nuclear plant would cost at least $8.6bn as Coalition stalls on policy details

Electricity from nuclear power in Australia would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind, according to a report from the CSIRO that has for the first time calculated costs for large-scale reactors.

The federal Coalition, which has claimed nuclear would provide cheap electricity, is still to reveal any details on its nuclear policy after initially promising it would make an announcement in time for last week’s federal budget.

This week the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said more plans would be released “in due course” and he has yet to say where plants might be built or how large they would be.

The Coalition would first have to overturn a federal ban on nuclear power. Several state government bans also exist.

According to CSIRO’s GenCost report, a theoretical 1,000MW nuclear plant built today would cost at least $8.6bn.

The report said nuclear costs in that range “can only be achieved if Australia commits to a continuous building program and only after an initial higher cost unit is constructed”.

The capital costs of a large nuclear plant could double in a country that has never built a large reactor before, the report said.

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Closing Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station would leave NSW exposed to risk of blackouts

Eraring, the nation’s biggest coal-fired power station, may need to delay its closure to ease blackout threats in New South Wales, while other eastern states also face “periods of high risk” because of the slow rollout of renewables, the Australian Energy Market Operator warns.

In an unusual update of its Electricity Statement of Opportunities report, Aemo forecast so-called reliability gaps in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria unless authorities “orchestrated” faster deployment of solar and wind energy as well as batteries.

“While new generation and storage capacity continues to increase, project development and commissioning delays are impacting reliability throughout the horizon,” Aemo’s chief executive, Daniel Westerman, said.

The assessment only considered existing, committed and anticipated projects. It omitted federal or state government programs and projects in the pipeline totalling 280 gigawatts – or 4.5 times the present national electricity market’s capacity.

The identified reliability risks were higher in coming years than the “central scenario” detailed in the report’s initial forecasts last October. For NSW and Victoria, risks were higher in the 2024-25 to 2027-28 years, and in 2026-27 for South Australia.

Battery project delays may cause periods of scarcity in the summer supply after the August 2025 scheduled exit of Origin Energy’s 2.88GW Eraring plant, Aemo said.

Origin and the NSW government say negotiations over Eraring continue. A decision to extend its operations for several years is expected soon although some experts say the likely cost of hundreds of millions of dollars could be better spent elsewhere and millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution avoided.

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Australia banks on batteries in plan to move away from ‘dig-and-ship’ economy

The Albanese government has unveiled the first national battery strategy aimed at turning Australia from a “dig-and-ship” economy that sells off its critical minerals into a powerhouse manufacturer of better and safer renewable energy storage.

The strategy aims to end Australia’s reliance on China for the batteries that power mobile phones, electric cars, scooters and heavy equipment and that will eventually support a grid powered by wind and solar, transitioning the country to a “renewable energy superpower”.

In his foreword to the strategy, which is being released on Thursday, the industry minister, Ed Husic, declares: “If we mine it here, we should make it here.”

“Australia has unmatched natural advantages to create a battery industry,” Husic said. “These include world-leading renewable energy resources, critical minerals, skilled workers and a strong international trading reputation.”

In comments to Guardian Australia, Husic pointed to this week’s annual GenCost report from the CSIRO, which found renewables remained the cheapest form of energy, despite the cost of installing new infrastructure to support them.

“Firmed renewables are the only realistic option for transitioning our grid to net zero,” Husic said.

“That means we have to be able to build our own batteries so we’re not reliant on overseas supply chains. And that’s why it’s so important to invest in building up our homegrown battery industry that can produce safer, more energy dense batteries that are designed for our harsh climate.”

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Battery bonus switched on after coal-plant lifeline

A NSW offer to heavily subsidise batteries for homes with rooftop solar systems has been pitched as a key plank in the shift to renewables as the state defends its lifeline for Australia's biggest coal-fired power plant.

The plan, announced on Friday, means more than one million households with solar panels could save as much as $2400 in the up-front costs of installing a battery.

The measure comes a day after a two-year lifeline was thrown to Australia's largest coal-fired generator in a bid to shore up at-risk energy supplies during a slower-than-expected transition to renewables.

The deal with Origin Energy, which could cost taxpayers up to $450 million, will keep the Hunter region's Eraring plant running past its previously scheduled retirement date of August 2025.

Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the incentives for household batteries were part of efforts to boost state power-grid reliability.

"It's just part of the suite of activities that we're undertaking as NSW transitions our electricity grid to a cleaner energy future," she said.

part 1 of 3

• ‘Largest ever’ NSW coalmine plan will put pressure on state’s net zero target, watchdog says

The New South Wales environment watchdog says a plan to extend the life of a Hunter Valley coal-mining complex to 2050 is the “largest coal-mining proposal ever put forward” in the state.

Plans by Yancoal and Glencore to keep its joint-venture Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) mines in the Upper Hunter region going would see almost 30m tonnes of CO2 released, the EPA said in a letter to the state’s planning department.

Without changes to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the letter said HVO’s plan would put pressure on other parts of the state’s economy to go faster on emissions reductions “for NSW to remain on track to meet the legislated net zero emissions target in 2050”.

The EPA said the project “relies on offsets” to reduce its emissions, but that came “with no detail on where the offsets will be generated”.

HVO started its application to extend the life of its mine in 2017. Without further approvals, mining would have to stop at the north pit in June 2025 and the south pit in 2030.

HVO claimed the project would deliver $7.8bn of economic benefits to the state, with 1,500 ongoing jobs and 600 temporary construction jobs.

Direct greenhouse gas emissions from open-cut mining come mainly from the release of underground gases when seams are exposed, as well as from hauling coal out of the mine.

But the bulk of emissions related to the mine would come from the burning of the coal after it is exported overseas. Most of the coal from the project would be burned in power stations.

HVO said the mine extension would produce 438m tonnes of thermal coal for power stations and 59 Mt of coal used in steel-making.

The project would directly emit 29.3m tonnes of CO2-equivalent “with 14.3 MtCO2-e assumed to be offset,” the EPA said, leaving 15 MtCO2-e “unabated between 2024 and 2050”.

The EPA said mining after the year 2040 should be dependent on attempts to “drain” gases before mining and to replace trucks for more efficient models.

The project will need to be assessed by the state’s planning department and then the Independent Planning Commission. The project will also need federal environmental approval.

Campaign group Lock the Gate Alliance said the project would be responsible for adding more than 1.2bn tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere over its lifetime.

Nic Clyde, the alliance’s state coordinator, said the NSW government had already said it was likely to miss its climate targets for 2030 and 2035.

“Approving the largest coal project in the state’s history would blow those targets out of the water,” he said.

“It would be an absolute disaster for NSW communities already living with the devastating impacts of extreme weather, made worse due to the extraction and burning of fossil fuels like coal.”

He said the HVO project was a “huge test” for the state government’s new climate change laws, passed last year, that legislated targets to cut emissions in half by 2030 and by 70% by 2035, based on 2005 levels.

He said: “The planning system in this state needs to be updated so immensely polluting coal projects like this stand no chance of approval.

“Other industries and businesses in NSW should not have to bear the brunt of greater emissions reduction because coalmines, the biggest cause of global warming, are still trying to expand.”

He said the state had 18 new coal projects being assessed.

“Each one of these projects, if approved, would drastically set back our chance of meeting NSW emissions targets and will fuel dangerous climate change – we can’t afford more coalmine expansions.”

HVO general manager, Dave Foster, said: “The EPA letter does not oppose the proposal. We have already committed to two of the consent conditions the EPA suggests if approval is granted – a three-yearly review of technologies to further reduce emissions and a gas pre-drainage trial within two years of continuing mining.”

He said the proposal was “an effective way to meet continued demand from some of Australia’s key security and trading partners for our high quality coal” and pointed to International Energy Agency projections that there would still be demand for coal up to 2050.

“The mine has been operating for more than 70 years. Because we are largely re-mining previously disturbed areas, there are relatively few additional impacts compared to a new mine or expansion of an existing mine to a similar scale.”

___________

• Price driven: electric cars have never been cheaper. Is it now time to buy an EV?

More models, increased competition and excess stock have created an EV buyer’s market.

Unprecedented discounts have made electric cars more affordable than ever as carmakers scramble for market share.

And for those unable to splash out on a new electric vehicle, low prices are also creating bargains in the used car market.

More affordable than ever

Headlining the changes in the EV world are price drops across swathes of the market.

The GWM Ora hatchback is now Australia’s cheapest EV, priced from $35,990 after a fall in price of roughly $4,000.

The rival MG4 (from $39,990) is also thousands cheaper as part of a price repositioning on electric models from the budget-focused brand.

Australia a prime target

The Australian market has long been a popular training ground with new brands.

And the appeal of a mid-sized developed market could be ramping up.

Costello believes our lack of vehicle manufacturing makes Australia a prime target for Chinese brands facing tougher trade barriers in the US and Europe.

“Open markets like Australia that don’t have a domestic manufacturing industry to protect are going to become very desirable places for these fast-growing Chinese brands,” he says.

The Chinese influx is also indicative of the pressure on existing brands.

Costello believes there will be casualties.

“A market of 1.2m cars can’t have 80 different brands. Not every manufacturer we know today is going to make it.”
___________

• ‘Worth protecting’: Queensland government to ban carbon capture and storage in the Great Artesian Basin

The Queensland government plans to legislate to ban the Great Artesian Basin (Gab) from being used for carbon capture and storage, ruling out future proposals similar to a Glencore development that was knocked back earlier this month.

On Friday, the premier, Steven Miles, will announce that the Gab – which covers 1,700,000 square kilometres of the state – will be protected from greenhouse gas storage, describing the move as a win for the state, the environment, and farmers.

The Gab is Australia’s largest groundwater basin, flowing under 22% of the continent including parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales.

“I think the great artesian basin’s unique environmental, agricultural, economic and cultural significance is worth protecting,” Miles told the Guardian.

“I’ve listened to Queenslanders and I am making sure our government is doing what matters for the natural phenomenon that is the Great Artesian Basin.”

The state government last week rejected a proposal by mining giant Glencore for a liquified CO2 pilot scheme near Moonie on the Great Artesian Basin, using CO2 produced at the coal-fired power station at Millmerran.

State regulators found the process would likely cause an irreversible change in water quality, including increased concentrations of chloride, sulphate, lead and arsenic, among others.

Farmers’ organisations, including AgForce, were concerned the project would damage the basin, which is the only source of water for much of regional Queensland. The Queensland Farmers’ Federation called for a legislated permanent ban.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves reducing the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere from a fossil fuel project, usually by liquefying it and injecting it into underground reservoirs. The technology has not proven economically viable despite billions of dollars in potential government announced over the past two decades.

The sole commercial project operating in Australia, set up with $60m in federal support, was delayed for more than three years and has failed to reach its promised storage level since it began operating in August 2019.

The now-dead Glencore proposal was one of just two CCS projects under construction in Australia, though 16 are proposed.

Snip

“Industry said no, agriculture said no, local councils have said no, conservationists said no, and … the science has also said no [to CCS in the Gab],” Sheppard said.

part 2 of 3

Origin Energy offered to sell Eraring power station to NSW government for $544m

Origin Energy offered to sell its Eraring power station to the New South Wales government for more than half a billion dollars before announcing it would close the plant in August 2025, a document now made public reveals.

The energy company, which last week announced a pact with the government to keep the nation’s biggest coal-fired power station open for at least another two years, had offered to sell back the privatised facility for $544m during negotiations in 2021.

The company also discussed the state underwriting two of Eraring’s four units to run between 2025 and 2028 as an alternative plan. Part of that deal would have included the government subsidising a big battery on the plant’s lower Hunter Valley site for an estimated cost of “around $334m”, according to the March 2023 document prepared by the energy department.

The details surfaced after crossbench and opposition MPs teamed up to force the government to make public how the Minns Labor government decided to subsidise Origin for 80% of losses for as much as $225m a year to keep the 2880-megawatt plant operating for two more years. The state would keep 20% of any profits.

Origin said it may decide to extend Eraring further, with a final closure set for April 2029.

Some of the released documents were available only for MPs to view. But the opposition is considering challenging their confidentiality, the former Coalition energy minister Matt Kean said.

A separate department document dated April 2023, one month after the state election delivered a change of government, estimated new renewable energy supplies backed by storage and other measures would be able to cover Eraring’s exit in 2025.

“The documents prove there was no reliability gap had the government delivered the projects in the pipeline, which were on track before we left office,” Kean, now the opposition’s health spokesperson, told Guardian Australia.

“The question has to be asked why the government failed to deliver on time and on budget, and instead offered big corporate welfare to Origin Energy.”

A spokesperson said the government “arrived at a careful risk sharing arrangement that covers the reliability gap and protects consumers against price spikes”.

“It’s up to the previous government to explain why they weren’t able to reach an agreement with Origin,” he said. “Matt Kean is on the record saying the secret advice to him at the time was that the proposal would cost $1.6bn.”

___________

Gas exports: 56% given to corporations royalty-free

Australia Institute research has found that 56% of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free.

Around 80% of Australia’s gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Most of this gas is extracted from gas fields in Commonwealth waters, but the Australian Government has failed to levy royalties on gas feeding six of the seven offshore gas LNG export terminals operating in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Overall, this means over half the gas exported from Australia is royalty free.
Key Findings:

• No royalties are paid on 56% of the gas that is exported from Australia, including 73% of gas exported from WA.
• Over the last four years, multinational companies made $149 billion exporting royalty free gas.
• At least $13.3 billion in revenue could have been raised over the last four years had royalties been charged on royalty-free gas.
• No royalties are paid on gas supplying major facilities owned by Chevron, Woodside (Pluto), Shell, Inpex and Santos
• Royalties are only paid by the heavily subsidised North West Shelf and onshore fields.

“Many Australians will be shocked to realise that a large portion of the nation’s gas is given away, essentially for free,” said Mark Ogge, Principal Advisor at the Australia Institute.

“In the words of WA Treasury, ‘a royalty is the purchase price for a community-owned resource,’ and ‘the community expects a fair return for its petroleum resources’.

“However, in many cases Australians are getting no return at all for the sale of their gas.

“If you engaged an agent to sell your house for the best price, but instead they gave it to their mate for free, you would be angry. This is exactly what Australian governments from both political parties have been doing with our gas resources for decades.

“It is no coincidence that the Federal Government’s Future Gas Strategy does not mention the words ‘royalties’, ‘tax’ or ‘return’ in its entire 67 pages.

“Australians have missed out on better healthcare, education and public housing because the gas industry hasn’t been paying for the gas it exports.

“Australians have a right to know how we got into this absurd situation.

“Australia needs urgent reform to the tax and royalty system for resources to end this obscene giveaway.”

____________

Fossil fuel holdings have increased in many super funds, Market Forces says

Market Forces has released a report today detailing how superannuation funds are – so far – not walking the talk about decarbonising their holdings.

Its headline findings are that 30 of the nation’s biggest super funds have 9% of their members’ investments in what they call “Climate Wreckers Index companies”.

In the two years from December 2021 to the end of 2023, funds’ holdings of firms with big coal and gas exposure doubled from $19bn to $39bn.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the carbon spectrum, holdings of clean energy companies (drawn from the Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Global Clean Energy Index) actually fell by $500m over those two years to $7.7bn. That’s about 2% of funds’ holdings.

There are a couple of caveats to the report. One is that Market Forces counts BHP as a “wrecker” because of its coking coal assets.

BHP is a behemoth and many funds would find it hard to avoid having some of the miner’s stock in their holdings. (The company might say: we dig copper, cobalt and other metals that the renewables transition needs.)

The other caveat is that some of those movements have to do with shifts in stock prices. About one-third of the increase in fossil fuel stocks came from increased purchases of those shares by funds. These included Australian Super buying “tens of millions of Woodside shares”, according to the report lead, Brett Morgan.

As for the clean energy side of the ledger, the market capital value of such firms fell 15% over that time, Market Forces says. That explains the shrinking share of funds’ holdings.

Still, the group notes super funds talk up their net zero credentials. Based on comparison for these two years at least, we’re not seeing a decarbonisation trend matching that rhetoric.

_________

Hit the road: will 24 new multimillion-dollar electric buses be left sitting in a Brisbane shed?

Two dozen state-of-the art, multimillion-dollar electric buses could be left sitting idle in a shed when the Brisbane Metro service starts operations this year, because it will operate less frequently than initially planned.

The system was originally designed to operate every three minutes but it is now planned to run every five minutes, which would require fewer vehicles.

In 2022, Brisbane city council ordered 60 all-electric HESS lighTram 25 vehicles from Switzerland to service two lines, as part of a $1.7bn capital spend. Each double-articulated rubber-tyred bus will be 24.4 metres long and have a maximum capacity of 170 passengers.

The Labor council opposition claims only 36 will be needed to operate, even at maximum frequency.

The deputy opposition leader, Lucy Collier, criticised the council administration for what she said was wasteful overspending.

“Are you aware that your LNP administration ordered 24 too many Metro buses costing over $100m?” Collier asked during question time on Tuesday.

“And what is your explanation to the ratepayers and renters of Brisbane?

Liberal councillor Danita Parry said the claims were incorrect and accused the opposition of planning cuts to services.

“All 60 Metro vehicles will be required for the first stage of Brisbane Metro,” she said.

“The claims just over half may be needed or fewer vehicles are required is incorrect. Not only will we require every Metro we’ve got, we will require many more if we can get an agreement with the state government to grow public transport funding to match our fast-growing population,” she said.

“What we need is the state government to back us to be able to deliver more for the residents of Brisbane”.

Capital spend for the project is funded by the council and commonwealth. The state government will partially fund operations, as it does with all council bus services.

The Brisbane Metro project has been criticised for its name – it does not meet the International Association of Public Transport definition of a “metro”, which operate on rails – and for reliance on proprietary technology, rather than off-the-shelf light rail or buses produced and repaired by many companies, some in Australia. The project is also years behind schedule and over budget.

The Labor state and Liberal council governments were at loggerheads earlier this year over a service agreement for the scheme.

“The issue of surplus metro buses is a matter for Brisbane city council,” the transport minister, Bart Mellish, said this week.

“The Miles government has a signed agreement with council for services to commence in November.

“There is a signed agreement already in place with the Miles Government for BCC to commence Metro in November. BCC want the state government to sign a new agreement to sort out their own cost overruns on Metro.”

Part 1 of 3

National poll shows shift in Australian nuclear opinion

Australian attitudes towards energy sources have shifted markedly, the 20th edition of the Lowy Institute's annual poll has found, with six in ten now supportive of Australia using nuclear power to generate electricity.

Asked the question "Do you support or oppose Australia using nuclear power to generate electricity, alongside other sources of energy?", 61% of respondents said they were "somewhat" or "strongly" supportive of Australia using nuclear power to generate electricity, while 37% said they opposed this. Only 2% said they didn't know.

This is the first time the question has been included in the survey, but contrasts with a related question in the 2011 poll when more than six in ten Australians (62%) said they were either "strongly against" or "somewhat against" Australia building nuclear power plants as part of its plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Australia’s federal opposition has announced that, if elected, it would look to introduce nuclear power generation into Australia's energy mix, alongside renewables and other sources of energy, as part of its plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but this would involve first overturning a moratorium on nuclear energy generation in Australia, the report's authors note.

The poll found "slim to strong majority support" for a range of potential federal government climate-related policies although support has "softened mildly" for options including a more ambitious national emissions reduction target, hosting a UN climate conference, reducing coal exports, and banning new coal mines, and introducing an emissions trading scheme. About six in ten support the idea of reducing Australian coal exports and banning new coal mines from opening in Australia.

Support remained steady for subsidising renewable technologies, and increasing the use of gas, although opinion on renewables is divided. The poll found that 41% think the current federal government's national target for 82% of Australia's electricity to be generated from renewables by 2030 is "about right", 33% think this target is too ambitious, and 25% say it is not ambitious enough.
___________

Albo slams Coalition’s ‘nuclear fantasy’

Anthony Albanese has ramped up his attacks on the opposition’s nuclear energy plans, calling on voters to reject a Coalition [at]“nuclear fantasy, dreamed-up to delay real action on climate change”.

Speaking at the Sky News/The Australian Economic Outlook lunch in Sydney on Friday, the Prime Minister told business leaders that there were “big opportunities” in the transition to a net-zero economy as a pre-election fight over energy policy intensifies.

“Australia cannot afford to go back to the days when energy policy was about fighting for power in the Coalition party room rather than powering the nation. And we cannot afford to waste 15 years down a rabbit hole about nuclear reactors,” Mr Albanese said.

“Because just as we will not find our security in isolation, we will not build our prosperity by standing still. Every business leader in this room understands that the world isn’t waiting around for Australia.”

While the Coalition had originally promised to unveil its nuclear plans before the federal budget in May, it has since delayed their release, with further details expected before year’s end.

In late May, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans suffered a further setback when the CSIRO estimated Australia’s first large-scale nuclear power plant would not be operational until at least 2040 and would cost as much as $17bn in today’s dollars.

Promoting Labor’s Future Made in Australia Act, Mr Albanese said Australia would be instrumental in global decarbonisation efforts through exports of rare earths, critical minerals and green energy.

“We know the destination and we know how virtually every nation plans to get there – by embracing clean energy: solar power, wind power, green hydrogen,” he said.

“And in order to meet their targets, every nation will need more of the resources and technology that go into producing this energy: the metals and critical minerals and rare earths Australia has in such abundance.”

Asked about his government’s target to increase overall renewable generation in the national electricity market to 82 per cent by 2030, Mr Albanese said he did not accept analysis put forward that claimed that goal would not be met.
“It doesn’t go in a straight line, it ramps up, and that is one of the things that you will continue to see,” Mr Albanese said.

_________

Reminder…….

Bowen dismisses small modular nuclear reactors as a viable option

This week Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen rejected the proposition of replacing Australia's coal-fired power plants with small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), saying the cost – A$387 billion – was too great to taxpayers.

Analysis from the Climate Change Department indicated that 71 SMRs would be required to match the current power output of Australia's existing coal-fired stations, which generate a combined 21,300 megawatts of electricity.

Part 2 of 3

Australia Launches $7 Billion Inaugural Green Bond To Boost Sustainable Finance Market

In a groundbreaking move for Australia’s sustainable finance sector, the Australian Government has launched its inaugural green bond worth $7 billion. Spearheaded by The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, Treasurer, The Hon Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water, this issuance marks a significant milestone in advancing the nation’s transition to a green economy.

The bond issuance aims to attract both global and domestic green capital, funneling funds into projects crucial for Australia’s integration into the global economy while generating employment opportunities nationwide. Backed by the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM), the bond saw overwhelming demand, with bids totaling over $22 billion from 105 investor institutions across Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America.

This strong demand underscores Australia’s attractiveness as a destination for green investments and aligns with the Albanese Labor Government’s commitment to fostering private sector investment in achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The green bond provides investors worldwide with the opportunity to support government-backed projects vital for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and environmental enhancement.

Funds raised from the bond will finance a spectrum of projects, including green hydrogen hubs, community batteries, clean transportation initiatives, and biodiversity conservation programs, among others. These initiatives are poised to deliver substantial environmental benefits, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding renewable energy production, and safeguarding biodiversity.

The issuance of the green bond underscores the Australian Government’s unwavering dedication to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This initiative is expected to elevate Australia’s green finance market, attract more green capital, and enhance transparency surrounding climate outcomes and green investments.

Australia issues inaugural $7 billion green bond

Investors snap up Aussie green bond in support of government’s green vision

__________

Queensland earmarks AU$26 billion investment for renewables

Steven Miles, premier of Queensland, Australia, has unveiled plans today (6 June) to allocate a record AU$26 billion (US$17 billion) to the state’s Energy and Jobs Plan over the next four years, facilitating the rollout of solar PV and storage technology.

Marking Queensland Day, the investment is set to “supercharge renewable energy, storage, and transmission” and is the “largest investment being made in the nation”.

This investment increases the AU$19 billion assigned to the plan in last year’s budget.

As part of the investment, AU$16.5 billion will be provided to renewable energy and storage projects, AU$8.5 billion will go towards the construction of a ‘SuperGrid,’ AU$500 million will be allocated for network batteries and local grid solutions, and AU$192 million will be provided for the Transmission and Training Hubs in Townsville and Gladstone.

Commenting on the budget, Miles highlighted the economic opportunity renewables could bring to the state, asserting that it would mean “more jobs for Queensland, more investment and more industry innovation”.

“One thing I’m particularly passionate about is our state’s transition to renewables and the economic opportunity that transition can bring. It means more jobs for Queensland, more investment in Queensland and more industry innovation right here in Queensland,” Miles said.

“The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is a plan I am proud of, and I am proud to be investing in it through the first budget handed down as Queensland premier.”

___________

NSW Councils' New Home Electrification Could Save Households $608/Year

A new report, Electric Savings: the case for NSW councils to reduce emissions and energy bills through electrification, based on modelling by Strategy Policy Research and commissioned by 350 Australia, shows that electrification could slash the energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions of newly built homes and businesses across NSW.

The report models how much money and emissions would be saved if councils in NSW required new homes and businesses to be fully electric from 2024.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact renters, homeowners and small businesses, the report strengthens the case for electrification as a vital measure to lower living costs through reduced energy bills.

The report comes after the Albanese Government released its "Future Gas Strategy", which would set the world on a path towards catastrophic climate change. The strategy has been roundly criticised by environment groups and energy experts.
The report finds that:

• Requiring new residential buildings to be fully electric from this financial year would save $608 per year on average over the next 40 years - a total of $7,900 per household and $5.3 billion across the state.
• Greenhouse gas emissions for newly homes across the state would be reduced by 90.6% over the same period.
• New commercial buildings, like schools, hospitals, offices, cafes, restaurants and shops, would save $6.5 million this financial year, totalling to $1.3 billion over the next 40 years.
• Greenhouse gas emissions for new commercial buildings would be reduced by 77% over the period.

Together, cost savings for both the commercial and residential sectors represent $6.6 billion dollars in reduced energy costs across the state. The report also shows that 39 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions would be avoided over the next 40 years if new homes and businesses were electrified, an 85% reduction on business as usual. This is the equivalent of taking 313,000 cars off the road every year for 40 years.

Get a life you fucking retarded loon.

Hurts to see others working so hard to solve the problem, doesn’t it Climate denier

Go have a drink

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Hurts to see others working so hard to solve the problem, doesn’t it Climate denier

Go have a drink

Working hard to solve the problem? Do you really think that excessively posting every graph and article under the sun on an obscure sexpats’ Thai forum is either working hard or solving the problem?


Youre fucking madder than I thought!

Awareness, upsetting you today climate denier.

Have you started drinking yet?

part 3 of 3


As global heating cuts Australia’s snowfall ski season may go downhill, report warns

ookings have been slow ahead of the ski season at the mountain lodge in Thredbo that Annalisa Koeman’s parents built in the 1960s and have run ever since.

Last ski season started with some good snow falls “but it went downhill from there. It was a disastrous end. The ski lifts closed two weeks early,” says Koeman, managing supervisor at Kasees Apartments and Mountain Lodge.

Customers are probably waiting for decent falls after being disappointed last year, she says.

“The webcams do not lie,” she adds, pointing to live images on Tuesday of isolated patches of snow on ski runs.

According to a major new report from the Australian National University, the average length of ski seasons will be cut from the current 105 days to 81 by 2030 and just 70 days by 2050 even if greenhouse gas emissions are cut radically.

Under middle-of-the-road emissions, the season could be just 61 days by mid-century – a 40% cut on conditions today. If emissions remain high then by 2080 there would be enough snow to ski for only a handful of days.

“We can feel it and see it; we know it’s happening,” Koeman says.

__________

End of the windmill era: NSW switches to safer, more efficient solar water pumps

It’s a silhouette that has become part of the Australian landscape: angled metal blades and a wind vane whirring in the breeze to keep water tanks and stock troughs full.

But on the stock routes of New South Wales, the time of the windmill is coming to an end.

The NSW Local Land Services is slowly removing windmills from their travelling stock reserves, part of a $950,000 plan to replace them with safer, easier to maintain solar-powered pumps.

“Windmills are a renewable source of pumping water and we’re replacing them with an updated renewable source,” says LSS Riverina manager of biosecurity and emergency services, Michael Leane.

The new pumps may lack the romantic charm of a rusty Comet or Southern Cross windmill, but Leane says the “agtech” rollout will make it possible to remotely track water levels, pump function and watering systems – crucial during emergencies when farmers need safe land for stock to graze and drink.

“One of the major purposes [of the project] is for when there is a flood, fire or drought,” he says. “Our reserves are part of the DNA of this country. We need to maintain them, they’re a refuge.”

The decommissioned windmills will be auctioned off by the LSS.

____________

Labor has adopted its own ‘nature positive’ approach to the environment. But is it just a ‘snazzy slogan’?

The term “nature positive” has been adopted by the Australian government as a catch-all title and slogan for its promise to address failing national environment laws and the country’s poor and deteriorating environmental health.

But what does it actually mean? Last week we got an answer – or at least the first part of one – from the government’s perspective.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the Albanese government had created a “world first” by introducing a bill that defined the term.

It was included with legislation to create two agencies – Environment Protection Australia (a national EPA, responsible for improving nature protection) and Environment Information Australia (EIA, to provide data on environmental health).

The government has also said it will host a global nature positive summit in Sydney in October, though little has been said about who is coming or what it might achieve.

What is nature positive?

Internationally, nature positive has been popular since 2019, when people concerned about a global decline in biodiversity sought a phrase that might do for nature what “net zero” does for the climate crisis – set a measurable (and controversial) standard against which improvements can be tested.

A paper by environmentalists and scientists defined nature positive as halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 measured against a 2020 baseline and achieving “full recovery” by 2050. It would require retaining existing natural ecosystems – both areas that are highly intact and remnant fragments – and starting immediate restoration work on damaged and lost nature areas.

“Full recovery” will come when there are enough functioning ecosystems “to safeguard the stability and resilience of the Earth system, and support all life on Earth”.

The Nature Positive Initiative, a collection of 28 organisations, says nature positive means “increasing the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, populations and ecosystems so that by 2030 nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery”.

The term nature positive was not officially adopted in the text of a global biodiversity framework agreed at a global summit in Montreal in 2022, but it was agreed nature loss needed to stop by 2030.

What does the Australian government say?
The government released what it described as a “nature positive plan” in 2022, saying it would be “better for the environment, better for business”. Plibersek also suggested that Australia could become a “green Wall Street”, attracting global investment in conservation.

The new legislation defines nature positive as “an improvement in the diversity, abundance, resilience and integrity of ecosystems from a baseline”, and says “regard is to be had” about whether there is an improvement in the species that form ecosystems.

But the legislation does not include a baseline or timeframe by which nature should improve. It says these will be determined by the head of the EIA.

What has the reaction been?

It has been mixed. Environmentalists have largely welcomed the new agencies but there has been sharp criticism of what is missing – a promised rewrite of the national environment laws, which are widely acknowledged to be failing. New laws have been delayed indefinitely while – according to evidence at Senate estimates – the government seeks “some level of agreement” with business and environment organisations.

Scientists and conservationists are also critical of the government’s definition of nature positive – particularly the decision to leave out a baseline year against which improvement can be measured.

They say the government has not explained why it has not adopted the 2020 baseline year used internationally. An alternative may be 2021, when a national state of the environment report was completed.

Snip

What happens now?

The legislation is scheduled to be debated this week in the House of Representatives. Several crossbenchers are expected to introduce amendments.

The independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, says they will attempt to change the definition of nature positive to halting and reversing the decline of ecosystems by 2030 against a 2021 baseline, with recovery to be achieved by 2050.

Once the legislation gets to the upper house it will require the support of the Greens to pass. That party’s environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, says the test of whether laws are nature positive will be whether they “actually protect nature from destruction”.

“Mother Nature doesn’t buy the spin of snazzy slogans,” she says. “She needs genuine, positive protection.”

Originally Posted by S Landreth

part 3 of 3

Thank **** for that.

Does the bandwidth of Landreth cut and paste articles use too much energy?

Some Aus states claim that energy can be collected fro the sun, and other renewables. We know that is impossible, because according to Landreth, the sun is not hot!

Might be easier if I just update this thread once a day......

• Environmental groups apply to take Tanya Plibersek to high court over coalmine approvals

Conservationists will ask the high court to examine whether the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should have assessed the climate damage that would be caused by two large coalmine developments.

The Environment Council of Central Queensland has sought special leave in Australia’s highest court to appeal against the federal court’s dismissal of what is known as the Living Wonders case.

The council allege Plibersek failed to protect the environment from harm caused by the climate crisis when she decided two proposed thermal coalmine expansions could move to the next stage of the assessment process.

Represented by lawyers from Environmental Justice Australia, the council argued in federal court that Plibersek was legally required to protect the environment – including koalas and the Great Barrier Reef – from the climate harm the projects would cause.

One of the proposed developments, MACH Energy’s planned expansion of its Mount Pleasant operations in New South Wales, could become one of Australia’s biggest coalmines based on coal volume if it is approved and reaches the proposed production capacity of 21m tonnes of run-of-mine coal each year.

The other is Whitehaven Coal’s proposed extension of its Narrabri underground coal project in NSW, which would extend the life of the mine by 13 years to 2044.

Together, the projects would cause more than a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions after the coal is sold, exported and burned.

“We’re a small volunteer group. We don’t want to go to the high court, but our climate is breaking down and we feel we have no choice,” Christine Carlisle, the president of the Environment Council of Central Queensland said.

“The outcome of this high court application stands to impact all pending fossil fuel projects currently awaiting approval on the minister’s desk.”

Elizabeth McKinnon, the co-chief executive of EJA, said the council had applied to the high court because its members argued the Living Wonders case presented a question of law of significant public importance.

The case, if it goes ahead, would test the scope of Australia’s national environmental laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

When the full federal court dismissed the council’s appeal in May, its judgment pointed to the “ill-suitedness” of the current laws to assessing serious threats such as global heating and its effects on Australia’s wildlife and ecosystems.

Conservationists, scientists and independent and Greens MPs have long pointed to this as a gap in Australia’s environment laws and called for it to be addressed with a climate trigger.

The high court must first decide if it will grant special leave. If it is granted the council would then file its appeals later this year.

A spokesperson for Plibersek said because the matter was before the high court the minister was unable to comment.

MACH Energy declined to comment. Whitehaven Coal has been approached for comment.

Daily update……..

Commercial buildings next on the block for carbon cuts

The Property Council has welcomed a push to expand Australia's "light-touch" energy efficiency program for commercial buildings.

Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Jenny McAllister on Friday announced a deadline for expanding the program to better capture energy and emissions information.

The commercial building sector is responsible for about a quarter of electricity use and 10 per cent of total emissions in Australia, so expanding its coverage would drive cost savings for business and significant emissions cuts, she told a business audience.

Mandatory disclosure of energy use could apply to hotels, shopping centres, data centres, hospitals, and other non-residential facilities.

Proposed changes could also allow for the introduction of minimum energy performance standards for low-performing buildings that fail to improve under a mandatory disclosure regime.

Electrifying buildings, instead of business as usual, could save $49 billion in energy bills by 2050 and prevent almost 200 million tonnes of carbon going into the atmosphere, according to industry research.

The Property Council and Green Building Council of Australia have campaigned for the expansion of the commercial building disclosure (CBD) program and the national environmental performance rating system for buildings, known as NABERS.

The CBD program requires NABERS energy efficiency information to be provided, in most cases, when selling or leasing office space over 1000 square metres.

Property Council chief executive Mike Zorbas said including more commercial office space and types of commercial buildings in the program was a "no brainer" that would lead to savings in emissions and energy bills.

"It is an opportunity to rethink the program's role in encouraging electrification, the procurement of renewable electricity and a focus on embodied carbon of buildings," he said.

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Ka-ching: How Dutton's climate stance is helping the groups he opposes

A climate lobby group that backed successful independents at the last federal election has experienced a 20-fold increase in donations since the opposition leader came out against emission reduction targets.

Small individual donations worth almost $950,000 have come in over the past six weeks but there was a major increase in the past weekend, Climate 200 billionaire founder Simon Holmes a Court said.

Peter Dutton attack on the targets for 2030 and 2035 made his job easier, he said, with the climate group set to back 30 independents in next year’s election.

“People are frustrated, but I tell you what, they’re white hot after Mr Dutton’s reversal on climate,” Holmes a Court told ABC radio on Thursday.

Climate 200 is now considering backing an independent candidate in Dutton’s marginal greater Brisbane-based seat of Dickson.

“We could very much see a community campaign in Peter Dutton’s seat, that would be very interesting,” Holmes a Court said.

Incumbent independents will also be backed in “hard”.

There was also a community upswell in the southern ACT seat of Bean, on the back of “a Pocock effect”, and voters there were looking for a strong independent candidate.

But taking Bean would be a hard task with Labor MP David Smith holding the seat with a margin of almost 13 per cent.

Meanwhile, an academic has warned the coalition’s strategy on climate targets threatens a repeat of its painful 2022 electoral losses to independent candidates.

Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’

The federal government has given the green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney, making it Australia’s fourth such zone to be declared.

Announcing the project in the Illawarra on Saturday, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the move would bring thousands of new jobs and help “power Australia’s clean energy future”.

The zone will be 20km from the coast and exclude areas significant for the little penguin and for southern right whale migration.

It will cover an offshore area of 1,022 sq km – a one-third reduction from the original proposal – and has the potential to generate 2.9GW, or enough power for 1.8m homes.

“The Illawarra has been an engine room of the Australian economy for generations, and now it’s ready to power Australia’s clean energy future,” Bowen said.

“Declaring this offshore wind zone brings the Illawarra a step closer to becoming a major provider of the building blocks of the net zero transformation – green power, green hydrogen and green steel – along with thousands of new jobs.”

Since last year, the proposal for a windfarm zone in the Illawarra and the declaration of a zone in New South Wales’s Hunter region has drawn fierce opposition, with some online groups sharing factually incorrect information about the windfarms.

The Coalition has fanned opposition to the project, despite introducing legislation for the development of an offshore wind industry while in government.

The federal Labor MP for Whitlam, Stephen Jones, said the declaration showed the government’s commitment to supporting local jobs and delivering cheaper and more reliable energy for Illawarra businesses and households.

“We want Australia to be a global renewable energy superpower and regions such as the Illawarra have an important role to play in our nation’s energy transformation,” he said.

The zone does not guarantee an offshore windfarm will go ahead, but is the first of five regulatory stages. The stages will include project-specific feasibility and commercial licences and an environmental assessment under national conservation laws.

If an offshore windfarm does go ahead, the turbines could be up to 268 metres high. The government has said the size, arrangement and number of turbines will be determined after the prospective developer undertakes studies.

The government views creating an offshore windfarm industry in Australia as key to helping the country replace ageing coal-fired power plants, and reaching its plan for the energy grid to be made up of 82% of renewable energy by the end of the decade.

The federal Labor MP for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes, said she was pleased the zone had been amended to start further from the coast and exclude significant environmental areas.

“[It’s a] sensible compromise that reflects the majority of community opinion while helping to achieve our shared goals of more renewable energy, more jobs and fewer emissions,” she said.

“There is now an extensive process of studies and approvals that will be required but this is a positive step for a region that wants to secure its industrial future and power it using clean energy.”

Many welcomed the development on Saturday.

The Climate Council policy and advocacy head, Jennifer Rayner, said the Illawarra would continue to thrive for generations with affordable and clean energy being produced in the region.

“Offshore wind will be an important part of Australia’s clean energy grid because it provides reliable, steady renewable energy right around the clock,” Rayner said.

“This is one of the important ways we’ll power Australia as our ageing and unreliable coal-fired generators close.

“The federal and state governments need to work together to rapidly break through roadblocks that are holding back the delivery of onshore wind projects already supported by communities and investors.”

The University of Wollongong Energy Futures Network director, Ty Christopher, hailed the offshore wind project as a positive step for the region.

“By working together as a community, sharing our concerns for the environment to codesign a clean energy future for the region, we have the ability to deliver positive outcomes for our oceans, our communities and our local economy,” he said.