March
Greens join army of crossbench home battery boosters
Under the proposal, households looking to replace their gas appliances with electric versions would be able to access up to $10,000 in grants and $20,000 in low-interest loans.
January
Australian hydrogen hopefuls catch a break from US tax credit rules
Local proponents of the green fuel have been encouraged by the US government’s billions of dollars in tax credits which now come with fewer conditions attached.
November 2024
Coal lobbyist sends Ralph Babet to COP29
The Coalition for Conservation – chaired by coal lobbyist Larry Anthony - sent the fringe Senator to Baku.
Net zero ambition to go backward under Trump: poll
A clear majority of respondents believe international efforts to stem climate change have been set back by Donald Trump’s restoration to the White House.
October 2024
Australians can expect more hot days, more often
Australians are in for longer, hotter heatwaves this century, and greater risk of dangerous fires.
Gas ignites fight over energy future
Energy Minister Chris Bowen insists there is no reason to underwrite gas projects, but the Coalition and some experts say the technology is essential.
July 2024
‘Alltoohardism’ supplants climate denial as obstacle to renewables
Chris Bowen remains upbeat about achieving 82 per cent renewable energy generation by the end of the decade.
June 2024
Better carrot and stick provides investment certainty for carbon cuts
The climate safeguard mechanism for large emitting facilities means reaching the 43pc emissions reduction target by 2030 is certainly “doable”.
May 2024
Failure to deliver green pipeline is keeping Eraring open
The NSW government has left its green energy project pipeline languishing for years. Now it is charging a coal keeper tax instead.
What is in-flight turbulence, and when does it become dangerous?
While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years. Some meteorologists have linked an increase in reported incidences to climate change.
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.
March 2024
Power prices to fall but interest rates on indefinite hold
The government is relieved that energy prices will go down a little from July, but the timing of interest rate cuts is far less certain.
Automakers not the only ones caught out by slowing EV revolution
Chris Bowen will find it harder to maintain his preferred speed for new fuel efficiency standards as the pedal eases off the metal in EV sales.
Why Dutton is going nuclear
Peter Dutton thinks he can sell nuclear power to the public. The energy industry remains unconvinced by the business case.
Bowen goes full throttle on electric vehicles
The Climate Change and Energy Minister’s most intense battle – over fuel efficiency standards – is about to begin.
January 2024
Taxpayers to help fund coal-fired steel plant upgrade
Australia’s biggest steelmaker BlueScope will get $137 million in taxpayer funds to help pay for an upgrade of a coal-fired blast furnace making steel in the same way it has for decades.
Bass Strait gas deal struck, amid shortfall fears
The east coast’s biggest domestic gas supplier has agreed to help bridge a potential energy shortfall by locking in new supply agreement with the federal government.
December 2023
From Cro-Magnon to COP: how to stay on the wrong side of history
Chris Bowen is calling the end of fossil fuels. But the record of his ancestors suggests that you should not count them out just yet.
Woodside and Santos exploring merger
Both organisations have been considering the implications and logistics of any such deal, but declined to comment on “speculation”.
November 2023
Gas critical to renewables transition, says Bowen
Labor’s forecast has angered environmental campaigners and many teal independents who want an accelerated exit from the energy source.