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Energy & Climate

Yesterday

A protester speaks at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

No-shows and early exits make climate talks a sideshow

The world leaders who skipped Baku last week are all in Brazil now. While COPs are always fraught and fractious, this one feels at risk of sliding into irrelevance.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen

This Month

Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher is under fire over the company’s road map to reach net zero emissions by 2040.

Santos’ own director queried use of ‘clean’ definition: ACCR

Then-director Peter Hearl’s querying of the company’s use of the word “clean” exemplifies how readers of its climate report have been misled, Federal Court hears.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
Wind farms in NSW will be subject to rules to minimise visual and noise impact.

Turbines quieter than a fridge: The NSW rules to fix renewables delays

The new guidelines should cut approval times for large new wind farms in NSW that had blown out to almost a decade.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
John Podesta at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. “Are we facing new headwinds? Absolutely. But we won’t revert to the energy system of the 1950s. No way.”

Carbon trading deal struck despite likely US exit from Paris accord

Carbon trading could help raise some of the cash developing countries need to adapt to the effects of climate change, and enable big polluters to cut emissions.

  • Kenza Bryan, Attracta Mooney and Aime Williams
Momentum is growing in new onshore wind farm projects.

Rebound in wind, solar projects revives slim hope for 2030 targets

More commitments were made to new wind and solar farms in the September quarter than in the whole of 2023, according to Clean Energy Council data.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
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Trump has pledged to increase oil drilling, such as at Oil Search’s Alaskan site.

Pressure on other countries to lead on climate after Trump win

Experts say Trump’s election means countries will need to engage with US businesses and states to ensure the energy transition continues.

  • Hannah Wootton
Homeowners in flood-prone areas of NSW and Queensland can have difficulty getting insurance coverage.

Capital flight from climate risk fuels ‘ghost town’ fears

A plan that unlocks investment from super funds in improving resilience to climate change is vital to prevent whole regions of Australia becoming uninsurable, major investors say.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
There is an alternative. It begins with the recognition that tackling climate change is not an ideological choice. It is an existential necessity.

Climate change has broken Labor’s promise to cut electricity bills by $275

The reality for both sides of politics is that delivering lower emissions and reducing power prices is a false target. This is not negotiable – we cannot negotiate with physics.

  • Tony Wood
Matt Kean tells senate estimates that there is no economic case for nuclear power.

Nuclear a ‘rent-seeking parasite’ that will push up power prices: Kean

The former NSW treasurer said the alternative energy source was “old outdated technology” and the industry just wanted a taxpayer-funded handout.

  • Hannah Wootton
Sustainability reporting is story that can highlight qualitative rather than quantitative information.

Storyline approach can help smaller companies with green reporting

As sustainability reporting moves from voluntary practice to a regulatory requirement, Australian companies are grappling with complex new standards.

Sponsored 

by Grant Thornton

Santos’ new carbon capture and storage operation at Moomba in South Australia.

Net zero’s uneasy pact with carbon capture and storage

Santos and Beach Energy’s Moomba project hopes to overturn the technology’s weak reputation. Its detractors say it has already had 20 years to prove them wrong.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith

October

A new report has warned of reduced average snow depth in Australian alpine regions over coming years

New climate findings bad news for Aussie snow bunnies

Years of high-quality, deep snow cover across Australian alpine regions are becoming rare.

  • Tom Rabe

Australians can expect more hot days, more often

Australians are in for longer, hotter heatwaves this century, and greater risk of dangerous fires.

  • Tom Rabe
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher has presented the climate strategy to investors.

‘Series of speculations’: Santos climate targets under attack

The Federal Court case brought by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility alleges Santos deceived consumers with its clean energy claims.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
The $2.5 billion-MacIntyre wind farm will ultimately deliver generation capacity of 920 megawatts, enough to supply 600,000 homes.

Energy transition boosts local, state and national economies

The renewable energy sector has reached a tipping point, as Australia’s largest wind farm comes online.

Sponsored 

by ACCIONA Energía

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Getting the business model right is one of the biggest hurdles to developing a viable offshore wind sector in Australia.

Long-term vision needed to kickstart local offshore wind sector

Many countries are already reaping the benefits of this renewable resource.

Sponsored 

by Westpac

Coal coming into the stockyard at Whitehaven’s Maules Creek mine.

The energy transition is powered by – wait for it – coal

It’s a sign of the uneven, fits-and-starts nature of the energy transition: record solar generation and record coal demand can coexist.

  • Javier Blas
Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien at the Energy and Climate Summit.

Coalition says king coal to stay on the throne

The Coalition’s nuclear policy gets most of the attention, but the future of coal will have a starring role in the continuing climate wars.

  • Jennifer Hewett
Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien speaks on Tuesday.

Only the Coalition has credible plan to close coal

Labor’s real game plan is to “extend and pretend”.

  • Ted O'Brien
Matt Kean, Chair, Climate Change Authority, speaking at the Energy & Climate Summit.

Delay-mongers have latched on to nuclear

I suspect those arguing for it don’t believe we’ll ever build one of these reactors in Australia, and certainly not in time to bridge coal’s energy system exit.

  • Matt Kean

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate