2 December 2022

CLIMATE POLITICS

‘Wake-up call’: Australia will fall short of 43pc target (Australian Financial Review): Labor is forecast by the government to fall short of its newly legislated 43 per cent 2030 target, putting pressure on Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen to avoid carve-outs under his planned industrial emissions reforms for trade-exposed businesses or emerging coal and gas projects. The first-ever Annual Climate Change Statement from the government to parliament on Thursday also put the nation on notice that more efforts will be needed to curb emissions from passenger vehicles and trucks, as well as from agriculture.

Labor’s EV strategy won’t immediately fix Australia’s supply problems, experts say (The Guardian): Demand for electric cars will continue to outstrip supply despite the Albanese government’s push to make the vehicles more accessible, because the Australian market is not a priority for manufacturers, industry experts say. “I think we’re going to get a whole lot of vehicles and they’re going to launch soon,” said Matthew Hobbs, director of policy at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. “But we still need to get to a position where we get more volume rather than just a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand.”

“Goodbye to them:” Victoria votes to end coal and make radical shift to renewables (Renew Economy): We are used to hearing crowds chant for their country, and for their heroes: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”, “U-S-A, U-S-A,” or “Me-ssi, Me-ssi,” But when was the last time you heard a group of adults chant for a now disbanded public utility? “S-E-C, S-E-C, S-E-C, S-E-C” came the cry from the Labor faithful gathered ton Saturday night to celebrate the stunning win of Victoria’s Labor government, and the near complete evisceration of the Liberal Party’s belief that promises of a gas-led recovery could somehow lead to salvation at the polls. SEC stands for the State Electricity Commission, a body Labor intends to revive, lock into the state’s constitution and lead the push to reach 95 per cent renewables by 2035. The Liberals – still controlled by the fossil fuel agenda – mocked the idea, and promised instead a lot of fracking for new gas.

Energy fight looms as Labor plan for gas price firms (Australian Financial Review): Labor risks picking a fight with the gas industry with a plan to cap prices at between $11 and $13 a gigajoule for commercial and industrial customers in a move that could threaten additional supply and open up a battle between Queensland and southern states. But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk put federal Labor on notice that she will oppose any attempt to force a similar price cap on coal used by state-owned energy companies, declaring “hands off our generators”.

CEFC strikes deal to lower interest rates on EV loans (Australian Financial Review): The federal Labor government will spend $20.5 million to discount loans used to purchase electric vehicles as part of a deal struck between the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Taurus Motor Finance. Labor has made boosting electric vehicle sales a centrepiece of its plans, and scored a legislative victory earlier this month to exempt low-and zero emission cars from fringe benefits tax, potentially saving buyers more than $30,000.

State-owned energy companies deliver $5b bonanza for Palaszczuk (Australian Financial Review): Queensland state-owned energy companies, including coal-fired power stations, have delivered more than $5 billion in dividends to the coffers of the Labor government over the past five years. As Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned the federal government to “keep your hands off our generators”, an analysis of their financial statements by The Australian Financial Review revealed they were big money earners for the Queensland government.

CARBON MARKETS

Safeguard credits bill lands in parliament, but devil will be in design and baseline (Renew Economy): Federal parliament gets its first chance to weigh in on the government’s safeguard mechanism changes as the legislation hit the floor today. The bill is the first part of a process to establish the new safeguard mechanism credits (SMCs), which will reward high polluting facilities for reducing their emissions below a baseline. “The introduction of Safeguard crediting will provide a balanced scheme that is effective, equitable, efficient and simple,” minister for climate change and energy Chris Bowen said. “The reforms will support industry to reduce emissions efficiently, while maintaining competitiveness as the global economy decarbonises.

Carbon charge in play in power reform (Business News): Renewable generators may not earn enough revenue to attract investment as the state shuts down coal, a major electricity market review has found. The grid’s rules will need reform to reward the new generators for contributing to cutting emissions, according to the Economic Regulation Authority’s three-yearly review of the power market. A carbon price, emissions trading scheme or support for low-emissions technology would be among the measures that could be introduced, the report said. The ERA’s report highlights that the existing market structure in the state’s main power grid, the South West Interconnected System, may not be suitable to incentivise investment into renewables or battery storage.

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Construction begins on WA EV Network (Media Statement – The Hon Bill Johnston MLA): Construction started this week on the world's longest electric vehicle highway, with the town of Kalbarri to be the first location to receive a charger on the WA EV Network. Work on the installation of the first charging stations began this week at Kalbarri and Northampton, with construction starting at the Geraldton site next week. The sites are expected to be operational early next year with works on the remaining locations on Western Australia's main electricity grid, the South West Interconnected System, throughout 2023. The contract for the installation of the standard and fast chargers will be awarded to several local WA companies over the duration of the project.

WA’s largest wind farm launches new company to expand clean energy portfolio (Renew Economy): The owners of Western Australia’s largest wind farm, the 222MW Collgar facility have launched a newly formed company to look at expansion opportunities and build out a large portfolio of clean energy projects. The Collgar wind farm produced its first electricity more than a decade ago in 2011, and recent improvements to its aerodynamics lifted the capacity from its 111 turbines from 207MW to 222MW. Now, the owners of the Collgar Wind Farm – backed by the huge Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (Rest), which has $66 billion under management – are looking to build on their successful history and expand their clean energy assets.

Water Corp moves into energy generation (Business News): State-owned Water Corporation has made a major strategic shift after striking a deal to buy one of Western Australia’s largest wind farm projects. The state government announced over the weekend that Water Corp has agreed to buy the development rights for the Flat Rocks wind farm stage 2, near Kojonup, from private company Moonies Hill Energy. Expected to cost more than $200 million to develop, the wind farm will generate up to 100 megawatts of electricity, with the potential to upgrade capacity to 150MW. Water minister Dave Kelly said the new project would allow Water Corp to stop buying electricty from the privately-owned Bluewaters Power station at Collie.

First Nations Clean Energy Network: How renewables can avoid the mistakes of the past (Renew Economy): As the new federal Labor government promises new jobs, low power bills and reduced emissions through its Powering Australia plan, the renewables sector is set to boom over the next decade. Given all new energy projects are being installed on unceded First Nations land, the First Nations Clean Energy Network, an organisation representing Indigenous land councils, organisations and industry groups, has released two new guides to make sure new projects don’t repeat the mistakes of the fossil fuel sector’s past and are geared towards the best outcomes for First Nations communities from conception. The first report, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Best Practice Principles for Clean Energy Projects lays out 10 principles for the clean energy industry, government and communities.

Net-zero solar panels? WA renewable hydrogen project spurs green glass potential (Renew Economy): Plans to make net-zero glass – and potentially solar panels – in Western Australia using locally produced renewable hydrogen are starting to take shape, as global energy consultancy Xodus seeks funds for a 1GW electrolyser project. Scotland-based Xodus says it is sounding out capital and infrastructure partners to back its plans for a green hydrogen production plant in WA’s Mid-West region, with up to 1,000 megawatts of capacity of electrolyser capacity, which would require multiples of that in green energy capacity to supply it.

Rio in near $900m solar farm spending spree (Australian Financial Review): Rio Tinto plans to spend $US600 million ($897 million) building two new solar farms and battery storage capacity in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its vast iron ore operations in Western Australia. The latest funding commitment is part of an expected $US3 billion spending spree as Rio looks to halve emissions from its Pilbara mines by the end of the decade.

CEFC puts $70 million into Hines’ hybrid timber building (Australian Financial Review): The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will invest $70 million in Hines’ planned 15-level hybrid timber office in Melbourne, the first of a series of investments aimed at encouraging the take-up of timber construction materials to absorb carbon and reduce the emissions of new buildings. The outlay, the first spend by the federal government green financing agency in a planned $300 million Timber Building Program outlined in February, matches debt funding from non-bank lender Madigan Capital.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

More execs view sustainability as a cost than investment: Capgemini (Australian Financial Review): Too many chief executives still view sustainability initiatives as a cost with limited potential benefit rather than an investment in the future, Capgemini chief executive Aiman Ezzat said. Capgemini, a Paris-based multinational IT services and consulting company released a report this month that found only 21 per cent of executives around the world believe there is a clear business case for sustainability.

Most miners are ducking their climate responsibilities: Cutifani (Australian Financial Review): Almost two-thirds of the world’s mining companies are yet to really get a grip on their environmental and social responsibilities, according to the Australian executive who was until recently one of the global industry’s most senior Australian leaders. Mark Cutifani, the London-based former CEO of mining giant Anglo American, is back in his homeland this week to set out a blueprint for the industry’s future, arguing ethical practices and shareholder returns are not in conflict but are two sides of the same coin.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

‘Unacceptable risk’: Court rejects Palmer coal mine over emissions (Australian Financial Review): Clive Palmer’s proposal for a $6.5 billion thermal coal mine in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland has been dealt a major blow after the Queensland Land Court recommended the Palaszczuk government reject the mining lease because of its potentially adverse effects on climate change. In what could have major repercussions for future coal development in Queensland, Land Court president Fleur Kingham ruled that Mr Palmer’s proposed Waratah Coal mine and its 1.58 gigatonnes of carbon emissions would “contribute environmental harm” for future generations, including First Nations people.

Evidence grows of forced labour and slavery in production of solar panels, wind turbines (The Guardian): The Australian clean energy industry has warned of growing evidence linking renewable energy supply chains to modern slavery, and urged companies and governments to act to eliminate it. A report by the Clean Energy Council, representing renewable energy companies and solar installers, has called for more local renewable energy production and manufacturing and a “certificate of origin” scheme to counter concerns about slave labour in mineral extraction and manufacturing in China, Africa and South America.

Climate Council report finds Queensland bears highest cost of climate disasters in Australia (ABC News): Queensland suffered more economic damage from extreme weather disasters than any other state or territory, and more extreme weather is on the way. A Climate Council report released today has examined the financial, social and economic costs of climate change-driven weather events. It found Queensland has lost a total of about $30 billion from extreme weather disasters since 1970 — about three times that of Victoria. The economic cost to Queensland from the floods in February and March alone was $7.7 billion, with an estimated $5.56 billion in insured losses across south-east Queensland and coastal NSW.

COP27 was disappointing, but 2022 remains an historic year for international climate policy (The Conversation): This year’s global climate negotiations at the COP27 in Egypt were disappointing. In particular, the international commitment to limit planetary warming to 1.5℃ remains on “life support”. But hope is not lost. In fact, 2022 was an historic year for international climate policy. It marked a shift in how the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters – China, the United States, the European Union and India – deal with climate change when faced with economic and energy shocks.