28 October 2022

CLIMATE POLITICS

Labor overhauls Australia’s climate spending in budget and sounds warning on future costs (The Guardian): ?Labor has revamped Australia’s response to climate change and environmental degradation, redirecting nearly $750m in Coalition commitments, including some spending on gas and carbon capture and storage. As revealed by Guardian Australia, the first Albanese government budget scrapped a Scott Morrison-era electricity generation underwriting scheme that was promised, but failed, to build up to five new gas-fired power generators and six hydro plants. It also reduced and “realigned” support for CCS away from new fossil fuel developments. Instead, the government promised $141m over a decade to develop CCS in “hard-to-abate” industries in which there were few alternatives to cut emissions, such as cement manufacturing. Some of the funding would also be directed to “negative emissions” technologies that aim to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it, such as direct air capture.

Record boost to clean energy spend as global crunch looms (Sydney Morning Herald): A record $25-billion investment to tackle climate change and cut emissions will provide a road map for the Albanese government to deliver on its election pledge to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, while it has beefed up the “gas trigger” to push companies to provide lower cost energy to customers. The ambitious clean energy agenda, announced in Tuesday night’s budget, also includes a plan to have renewable energy provide 82 per cent of the electricity network by 2030, which the government promised during the election campaign would also cut power bills by $275 by 2025.

CEFC gets $8.6 billion in new funding to connect renewables to the grid (Renew Economy): The federal government has injected another $8.6 billion into the Clean Energy Finance Corp (CEFC) to spend on its Rewiring the Nation projects. The CEFC is leading the financial aspects of the program and says the cash is the first extra funding it’s ever received from the government in its decade-long life. “This new capital allocation is a welcome endorsement by the Government of our impact over the past decade, acknowledging our investment expertise and careful stewardship of taxpayers’ money,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth in a statement.

$600m for disaster relief services after ‘back-to-back’ climate emergencies (Sydney Morning Herald): An emergency workforce has been hired to deliver faster payments to Australians suffering from floods and other natural disasters in a $588 million federal budget plan that prepares for more pressure from events caused in part by climate change. Services Australia has gained at least 2000 workers to take calls for help from victims of natural disasters and ensure resources are in place to deal with the workload during summer.

Albanese government staring at 'unpleasant choices' amid deepening energy price crisis (ABC News): One of Australia's leading charities is imploring state and federal governments to shield poor and disadvantaged households from spiralling power prices, saying "scattergun" policies risked making the cost-of-living crisis worse. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers revealed in his first budget on Tuesday that the government expected electricity prices to skyrocket 56 per cent in the next two years as turmoil in the wholesale market flowed through to consumers. In a sign of the government's concern about the upheaval, both Mr Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have suggested they may intervene in the market to keep a lid on prices.

CARBON MARKETS

Carbon offset whistleblower to be taken seriously in inquiry: Ian Chubb (Sydney Morning Herald): Damning whistleblower criticisms of the federal government’s $4.5 billion carbon credits scheme must be taken seriously, according to former chief scientist Ian Chubb, who is reviewing controversial rules following claims that taxpayers’ money was being spent on fake climate action. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen committed before the May election to a review of the $4.5 billion Emissions Reduction Fund. In June, he appointed Chubb to lead a six-month inquiry, which is due to report by December 31.

Carbon credits boom tipped on demand from big polluters (The Australian): Prices in Australia’s $4.5bn carbon credit market could more than triple over the next decade amid demand from the nation’s largest emitters under Labor’s tougher safeguard mechanism.

Carbon investor completes $55m capital raise (Australian Financial Review): The quality and integrity of Australian carbon credits can only be maintained if pricing is left to the free market, a leading Australian carbon investor says, rejecting calls from the heaviest emitters for pricing caps under the federal safeguard mechanism. Australian-based carbon offset investor Viridios wrapped up a $55 million capital raising on Wednesday with backing from impact investors including ROC Partners and Privatus Capital Partners, a boutique investor set up by former Goldman Sachs executive James McMurdo.

Xpansiv platform to launch carbon credit trading (Australian Financial Review): A carbon trading platform partly owned by private equity giant Blackstone will become the first exchange to start offering Australian Carbon Credit Unit trading in a move that reflects the expanding interest across the economy in accessing environmental products to help meet decarbonisation goals. Xpansiv, in which Blackstone invested almost $600 million in July, said its CBL environmental commodity spot exchange secured an Australian financial services licence for carbon products in Australia.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Energy company fined $53,000 in ASIC’s first greenwashing penalty (Australian Financial Review): The corporate watchdog has slapped energy company Tlou Energy with a $53,280 fine over greenwashing, the first penalty from a major Australian regulator cracking down on this type of misconduct. Tlou was fined over statements to the ASX last October that the electricity it produced at its Lesedi power station would produce carbon-neutral energy from the outset of its operations.

Woodside ‘ignoring investors’ by not putting climate plan to a vote (Sydney Morning Herald): Woodside’s owners will not get to vote on its revised climate plan in 2023, after half of them rejected it this year, as the gas giant says it does not have enough time to fully incorporate assets it agreed to buy from BHP a year ago. Woodside received a stinging rebuff at its May annual general meeting when 49 per cent of shareholders voted in a non-binding poll against accepting its plan for operating in an emissions-constrained future. Two weeks earlier, rival Santos suffered a 37 per cent no vote.

Cutting carbon footprint with every click: Greener seeks out green dollars (Sydney Morning Herald): Australian cleantech Greener has notched up a win in its quest to deliver a new green economy where every dollar spent is carbon neutral, which its founders say will let businesses and consumers better track and reduce their carbon footprint. Greener, a certified B Corp, has picked up $4 million in new funding led by NAB Ventures, as it gets ready to roll out a tech solution that it says will drive customers to retailers who commit to green practices, and offset the carbon for purchases consumers make from those retailers via an app. A B Corp company is for-profit organisation that has had its social and environmental performance certified as high standard.

Out of bounds: how much does greenwashing cost fossil-fuel sponsors of Australian sport? (The Conversation): High-profile Australian athletes and supporters across sports such as cricket, netball and Australian Rules football have recently called for their sports to reconsider their partnerships with fossil fuel or mining companies. Our report, released today, is the first research to quantify the number and value of fossil-fuel sponsorships in Australian sport. It reveals coal, gas and oil companies spend A$14 million to A$18 million each year sponsoring 14 high-profile leagues and sports in Australia. We identified 51 such partnerships. The major fossil-fuel sponsors of sport include companies such as Santos, Alinta, BHP and Woodside.

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Why this gas giant is betting on clean ammonia (Australian Financial Review): Japanese trading giant Mitsui is one of the original investors in Australia’s LNG sector, and although the fuel will remain part of the long-term energy mix for Japan, it is making big efforts in low-carbon ammonia and carbon capture.

NSW unveils Australian-first scheme to compensate landholders for hosting new high-voltage powerlines (ABC News): In an Australian first, the New South Wales government has unveiled a scheme to pay landholders for hosting high-voltage powerlines on their properties. The program will provide an annual sum of $10,000 per year over 20 years for every kilometre of new transmission line infrastructure. This will be on top of the existing one-off payment farmers receive when the lines are built now. Thousands of kilometres of grid infrastructure are under construction or being planned to connect new wind and solar projects.

Gravity storage specialist Energy Vault strikes big battery deal with Australia solar project (Renew Economy): US-based gravity storage proponent Energy Vault has announced plans to build a conventional two-hour big battery in Australia, alongside a proposed 330MW solar farm in Victoria. Energy Vault has made headlines in the past year with its unique gravity storage technology that proposes to lower heavy weights, such as concrete blocks down a shaft – acting in a similar way to pumped hydro, but using solid mass instead of water. It has struck MoUs with some big names in the industry, such as BHP and also a potential “multi gigawatt hour” storage proposal with Ark Energy for use with the Sun Metals zinc refinery in Queensland. And it has been backed by the likes of Saudi Aramco.

Sun Cable joins forces to find ways to build a green grid across Asia (Renew Economy): Sun Cable – the ambitious solar and storage developer backed by billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest – has set up a new partnership to pursue an interconnected “green grid” to transmit renewable electricity across Asia. Green grids are carbon-free electricity grids that transmitting power generated from renewable resources such as wind, hydropower and solar energy.

Survey unearths underground hydrogen storage sites (Australian Financial Review): Federal resources minister Madeleine King sees potential for more rare earths discoveries and for hydrogen storage in huge underground caverns in Western Australia as part of a global energy transition. Ms King signed off on a critical minerals partnership between Australia and Japan in Perth at the weekend as Western nations look to reduce their reliance on China for materials essential in the electrification of economies and in defence applications.

This start-up helps private investors work out financed emissions (Australian Financial Review): Private equity and venture capital managers are facing demands from their end investors to report and justify the “financed emissions” in their portfolios, forcing the uptake of carbon accounting software that can also aid company engagement to help the push to net zero. ROC Partners, an investor in private markets across Asia, and local venture fund Carthona Capital are among those using Pathzero software to estimate financed emissions using a reporting standard set down by the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF).

Call for “climate trigger” in state planning laws as floods spread to Victoria (Renew Economy): The leader of the Greens in Victoria, Samantha Ratnam, has called for a climate trigger to be included in the state’s planning laws, to ensure decisions on major projects assess their climate impact and adaptability. After two weeks of flooding across Victoria, triggered by what is shaping up to be the state’s wettest October on record, the impacts of extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change are front of mind, once again.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

Environment Victoria launches Supreme Court challenge of EPA's review of coal-fired power stations in Latrobe Valley (ABC News): Victoria's climate change act has faced its first major legal test in the state's highest court with environmentalists pushing to overturn licensing conditions of coal-fired power stations. Victoria introduced climate change legislation in 2017 that required all government decision-makers to have regard for climate change. The following year the state's environmental watchdog launched a review of the operating conditions of the three brown-coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley — Loy Yang A, Loy Yang B, and Yallourn.

Future of fossil fuels grim as economic arguments for clean energy grow (Sydney Morning Herald): Australia needs to quickly ramp up the production of critical minerals for the world to avoid the worst outcomes of global heating but the door has shut on new gas projects or coal mines, according to the International Energy Agency. Divergent paths for Australia’s resource sector are the inevitable result of a “narrow but still achievable” path to net-zero emissions in the IEA’s World Energy Outlook released on Thursday.

Investors who ignore renewable energy will be poorer for it (Sydney Morning Herald): Times of upheaval are often also times when we are forced to look at new ways of doing things and nowhere is that more apparent than in Europe. While the war in Ukraine is a human tragedy, a consequence of the conflict is that it has made Europe reassess the risks of having so much dependence on Russia for energy.

CSIRO accused of failing to disclose GISERA gas industry links in fracking information sheets (ABC News): The CSIRO is being accused of failing to disclose that fracking information sheets for Indigenous communities were written by one of its research division's partially funded by gas companies. Information included a statement that methane "may play a role" in climate change, which independent Senator David Pocock said was "straight out of the fossil fuel industry misinformation guide". A moratorium on fracking in the Northern Territory was lifted in 2018 and, since then, information about the extraction process has been distributed to affected Aboriginal communities.

Current emissions pledges will lead to catastrophic climate breakdown, says UN (The Guardian): Pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions will lead to global heating of 2.5C, a level that would condemn the world to catastrophic climate breakdown, according to the United Nations. Only a handful of countries have strengthened their commitments substantially in the last year, despite having promised to do so at the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last November. Deeper cuts are needed to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, which would avoid the worst ravages of extreme weather.