NewsBite

Fossil fuels

August

Ampol chief executive Matt Halliday with electric vehicle chargers at the company’s petrol and EV charging station in Alexandria, Sydney.  Photo Louie Douvis .

Power grid foils Ampol’s big EV charger plans

One of the country’s largest petrol retailers says it has become more difficult to connect to the power grid, at the same time as sales of EVs are sluggish.

  • Updated
  • Ben Potter and Simon Evans

July

Glencore is rehabilitating the Liddell coal mine in NSW after extracting the last coal in 2023.

Big Glencore shareholders want to keep coal

An influential group of Glencore shareholders want the company to abandon a plan to spin-off its coal division, and allocate those earnings to new avenues of growth.

  • Peter Ker
The Boggabri coal mine in NSW is owned by three Japanese companies.

Japan’s Chugoku puts its share of $1.1b Boggabri coal mine up for sale

The electricity retailer owns 10 per cent of the NSW operation, and it is the latest Japanese coal industry cornerstone firm to exit.

  • Peter Ker

June

Maules Creek in NSW is operated by Whitehaven Coal and part-owned by Itochu.

Japan’s Itochu delays plans to exit Australian thermal coal

The conglomerate joins Glencore in reassessing its decision to exit the fossil fuel with energy security prioritised amid rising geopolitical tensions.

  • Peter Ker

May

While all countries will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions if the world is to limit global warming, many of the poorest are struggling with ever-stretched budgets.

The $13.6 trillion question: how do we pay for the green transition?

The private sector will have to provide about 70 per cent of climate finance globally, and the heat is building on governments to deliver policies that do that.

  • Attracta Mooney
Advertisement

April

Qantas is already sourcing sustainable aviation fuel, but wants more action taken to produce it locally.

Sustainable aviation fuel has been a talkfest for far too long

For a government that has flagged its commitment, there is surprisingly little policy. Australia still produces no SAF – and has no fully funded projects.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
“Government is going to need to play a role,” said Greg Combet.

Bet ‘significant’ public money on renewables stakes: Combet

The incoming chair of the nation’s sprawling $212 billion Future Fund says it’s time to return to public investment in green energy.

  • Jacob Greber

March

Why Formula 1’s fuel is going green

Pat Symonds wrote the rules that will compel Formula 1 cars to run on carbon-neutral fuel from 2026. Big oil companies are now racing to find solutions.

  • Peter Ker

February

Ampol has benefited from soaring margins, but that could change with more competition.

Ampol shares surge to record high

Australia’s largest fuel supplier surged following a strong full-year result featuring a higher than expected special dividend to investors.

  • Elouise Fowler
 Cleanaway truck

This low-emissions truck runs on recycled cooking oil

Biofuels are emerging as stopgap fuel for hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy transport, aviation and industrial processing.

  • Agnes King
Transport Minister Catherine King and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen on Sunday.

Labor puts carbon cap on new cars, industry revives ute fears

New utes and four-wheel drives could be phased or priced out of the market before there are genuine electric alternatives under Labor’s new rules, motoring groups warn.

  • Phillip Coorey

December 2023

Australia will adopt a new fuel standard.

Australia will adopt ‘Euro 6’ fuel standard by late 2025

Labor says the move will increase the price of petrol by a modest 1¢ per litre, but allow importers to sell more efficient vehicles already common in Europe and elsewhere.

  • Jacob Greber
COP28 president Sultan Al-Jaber and US climate envoy John Kerry at COP28 in Dubai.

COP28 puts the heat on energy transition

The conference’s proposed measures could put the world back on course in its climate change response. What we need to see now is action from leaders in politics and business.

  • Kerry Schott
Alan Barnard, a cane farmer from Queensland, said biofuel projects would help provide diversified income streams for the sector.

Qantas calls on Canberra to back sustainable aviation fuel industry

The airline says federal support for a local sustainable aviation fuel could help airlines decarbonise and unlock new revenue streams for Queensland cane farmers.

  • Gus McCubbing
Paul Flynn grew up in a “good Catholic family of six girls and three boys.

This CEO of a $6b company was told he ‘could do better’ at school

Whitehaven chief Paul Flynn may not have been an enthusiastic student, but he learnt to debate around the kitchen table with his parents and eight siblings.

  • Sally Patten
Advertisement

November 2023

7-Eleven posted $220 million EBITDA in for the 2022 financial year, per the sale flyer.

7-Eleven Australia’s family owners sell for $1.71b

Convenience and petrol retailer 7-Eleven’s Australian arm has been sold to its Japanese parent company after a hard-fought auction run by Azure Capital and Ashurst, Street Talk can reveal.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Under pressure … COP 28 host and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company boss Sultan al-Jaber.

Oil boss lashes reports of side deals at COP28

Sultan al-Jaber angrily denies using diplomatic meetings to push business interests, as no-shows from top world leaders put the climate summit under pressure.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
A report says “recent examples of sudden and unilateral changes in tax and royalty regimes … have put future Australian investment at risk”.

Sharpen up to seize the critical mineral opportunity

Becoming the premier destination for mining investment needed for the energy transformation requires national recognition of what this would take, starting with the federal government.

  • The AFR View

October 2023

Crude’s drop followed a plunge in gasoline futures.

Viva underperforms on Geelong refinery troubles

Repairs were expected to be completed by the end of September, but Viva is not finding it that simple to return to full-tilt production.

  • Elouise Fowler

September 2023

The most recent UN report on global climate progress said the only way to stay within 1.5-degree temperature goals was to phase out unabated fossil fuels.

With fossil fuels, ‘peak demand’ isn’t what it sounds like

The term suggests a rapid descent from the highest point, but we should expect a levelling before we see a fall.

  • Javier Blas

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/fossil-fuels-6g6g