The full truth of the departure of Richard Van Breda as chief executive of the Queensland government-owned Stanwell Corporation is yet to emerge. But he appears to have fallen victim one way or another to another outbreak of climate and culture war politics.

At a conference last week, Mr Van Breda raised the prospect of mothballing the Tarong North and Stanwell coal-fired power plants before the end of their technical lives, due to the influx of cheap renewables into the electricity grid that are driving down wholesale power prices.