29 April 2022

CLIMATE POLITICS

Labor will require coal miners to pay to reduce their carbon emissions (Sydney Morning Herald): Coal miners will have to pay to reduce their carbon emissions from next year under a Labor vow to overhaul the government mechanism that regulates 215 big emitters, setting off a political dispute over the cost of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Labor climate spokesman Chris Bowen confirmed the impact on coal on Sunday in a key statement about the scope of the policy while saying the changes would be done gradually using a mechanism and targets backed by the Business Council of Australia.

Barnaby Joyce refuses to use term energy ‘transition’ because it ‘equals unemployment’ (Guardian Australia): Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce believes a “transition” from coal to cleaner energy “equals unemployment” in the regions, declaring the Coalition would not use the term during the election. The Nationals leader has also backed the government’s clean energy fund to support coal, and for other government infrastructure funds to finance the construction of coal-fired power stations, but not for the building of cleaner hydrogen plants. “Transition to what? There is no other industry here,” Joyce said while visiting the Queensland coal community of Gladstone. Climate and energy have not featured as major issues in the first two weeks of the federal election campaign, despite polling showing voters rank those as among their highest concerns.

Morrison pledges hydrogen hubs for Townsville, Gladstone (Australian Financial Review): Scott Morrison will promise two new hydrogen hubs in Townsville and Gladstone on Tuesday, and a $60 million business grants program for energy-efficient investment. At a cost of $275 million, the commitments are in addition to two hubs announced in Western Australia and one in Darwin during the campaign, with more expected to come before election day on May 21.

Election Diary: Labor pledges Pacific climate leadership, Morrison backs more gas (Renew Economy): Australia’s diplomatic relationship with Pacific Island neighbours has been thrust into the election spotlight, with China on the verge of constructing a new military base on the Solomon Islands. On Tuesday, with leader Anthony Albanese still out of action with Covid, Labor pledged to restore Australia’s leadership in the Pacific region, including through the creation of a new Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership. Through the partnership, Labor says it would support new climate and clean energy infrastructure projects throughout the Pacific. Morrison’s refusal to engage with Pacific Island neighbours on the issue of climate change – to the point leaving some Pacific leaders in tears – has been cited as a key cause of Australia’s deteriorating diplomatic relationships. Not to mention defence minister’s Peter Dutton casual joke about rising water levels.

Greens pledge billions in loans and grants to boost battery uptake and get homes off gas (Renew Economy): The Australian Greens have announced a massive plan to incentivise the uptake of solar and battery systems through the supply of grants and loans, along with the previously announced promise to create a 100 per cent publicly owned non-profit electricity retailer. Greens Leader Adam Bandt said the party’s plan will include grants for householders and business owners of up to $25,000 and loans of up to $100,000 to be used to transition away from gas-fired boilers, water heaters, and cooktops, and move towards electric alternatives.

Net zero ‘dead’: Nationals force climate war eruption in Coalition (Sydney Morning Herald): Scott Morrison’s hard-won climate change peace within the Coalition has fractured during the election campaign as prominent Nationals insist the 2050 net zero emissions target is dead and criticise the government’s billion-dollar push into hydrogen infrastructure. The prime minister has said his commitment to the 2050 target is “absolute” as he seeks to hold vulnerable Liberal seats in Sydney and Melbourne from climate-conscious independents, but his Coalition partners have escalated attacks on the net zero policy, which barely made it through the Nationals party room in 2021.

Matt Canavan told to 'pull his head in' by government colleagues over net zero by 2050 comments (ABC News): Nationals senator Matt Canavan has been told to "pull his head in" by a colleague, and slapped down by the Prime Minister, after attempting to muddy the waters over the Coalition's climate change commitments in the middle of a tight election race. The climate cracks within the Coalition have once again been exposed after Senator Canavan, who represents the resource-rich state of Queensland, told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing program "net zero is … dead".

CARBON MARKETS

Now we know the flaws of carbon offsets, it's time to get real about climate change (The Conversation): Last month former carbon market watchdog Andrew MacIntosh blew the whistle on Australia’s carbon offset market. He described the scheme as a “rort” with up to 80% of carbon offsets “markedly low in integrity”. While these allegations reignited debate over carbon offsets, the issues are not new. Integrity issues have plagued carbon trading schemes and offsets since they first emerged in the mid 1990s. You might think this is a fairly major bug. In fact, it’s a feature. Polluting industries want low-cost compliance with climate laws – and poor quality offsets satisfy this demand. The key phrase there is “low cost”. That’s the reason free-market economists championed this kind of flexible compliance over direct regulation in the first place.

Coalition climate policy forced big polluters to pay $15m for carbon credits in past year (Guardian Australia): The Coalition last year required polluting businesses to buy 419,000 carbon credits at an estimated cost of $15m using a policy that Scott Morrison now falsely describes as “Labor’s sneaky carbon tax”. Government data released last month shows that, under the Coalition’s so-called safeguard mechanism, major polluting companies had to buy 70% more carbon credits last financial year than in 2019-20. Industry representatives said it showed Australia already had an emissions compliance system that forced major polluters to pay for some emissions despite Morrison claiming its use of the safeguard mechanism involved “incentives”.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Fossil fuel companies to be sued for climate damage under Greens proposal (Renew Economy): The Australian Greens want to pave the way for climate affected communities to sue coal and gas companies for compensation under a proposal the party says would hold the companies accountable for their contributions to global warming. Launching the proposal in Ballina on Tuesday in the northern NSW seat of Richmond, which The Greens believe they have a chance of winning from Labor, leader Adam Bandt said coal and gas companies should bear the cost of climate-fuelled impacts they helped cause. This would include the cost of severe flooding that caused significant damage to homes and businesses throughout the Northern Rivers region, which covers both the Richmond and Page electorates.

Tamboran Resources facing hefty fine for failing to front Beetaloo Basin gas grants Senate inquiry (ABC News): A gas company receiving millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants to advance its interests in the Beetaloo Basin could face a significant fine for failing to appear at an inquiry into the controversial grants program. Sweetpea Petroleum, a subsidiary of Tamboran Resources, was awarded $7.5 million earlier this year under the program subsidising exploration wells in the gas-rich region south-east of Darwin. The handouts are currently being scrutinised by the federal senate's environment and communications committee, which handed down an inquiry progress report on Thursday.

Commonwealth Bank to offer cheaper mortgages to buyers investing in green homes (The West Australian): Commonwealth Bank has announced it will offer discounted mortgages to customers who invest in energy-efficient houses in a bid to support emission cuts. The bank will offer eligible homebuyers a mortgage at a 1.99 per cent standard variable rate, or a comparison rate of 2.45 per cent through its new Green Home Offer initiative. The rate is available for owner-occupier customers making principal and interest repayments with CBA’s wealth package and at least a 20 per cent deposit. To be eligible, customers must have a building that is certified by Green Building of Australia or an upgraded house with a seven star or greater Nationwide House Energy rating, solar panels, heat pump hot water system and have no gas to the building.

Bankers warned of ‘credibility issue’ amid implausible CO2 goals (Australian Financial Review): Bankers trying to get their net zero CO2 targets certified now face hard deadlines to reduce capital flows to fossil fuels. The Science Based Targets initiative, which is backed by the United Nations, plans to only verify emissions targets that include clear limits on financing oil, gas and coal, said Nate Aden, who heads SBTi’s financial industry project. The stricter process will also apply to asset managers.

GREEN PROJECT AND INITIATIVES

Quinbrook lands multi-billion-dollar finance for massive solar and battery project (Renew Economy): Queensland-based energy investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners says it has closed a multi-billion-dollar financing deal for one of the world’s biggest solar and battery storage projects. The 690MW Gemini solar and storage project, which will also include 380MW/1,416MWh of battery storage, is the largest project of its type in the US, and will be built just 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada.

Tesla expands virtual power plant to NSW, Queensland and ACT (One Step Off the Grid): Tesla is expanding the country’s largest virtual power plant to New South Wales, south-east Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory, under the banner of its Tesla Energy Plan. The announcement was quietly rolled out on the company’s LinkedIn page, and included very little in the way of details, with only a link to the Tesla Energy Plan page on its Australia website. The expansion of what Tesla describes as “Australia’s largest virtual power plant, purpose built for Powerwall owners” is, nevertheless, big news.

Fortescue says regenerative “Infinity Train” may be on tracks in two years (Renew Economy): Fortescue Metals says its so-called zero emissions “Infinity Train” – one of the key technologies that will come with the $US221 million purchase of the renowned Williams Advanced Engineering – could be on its private rail network within two years. The infinity train proposes to use the height of Fortescue’s iron ore mines – up to 600m above sea level – and the weight of its load (34,000 tonnes) to provide “regenerative power” to its battery electric locomotives. The idea is that it will generate enough power down hill to take the massive iron ore trains all the way to port, and put enough charge in the batteries so they can return the empty trains up hill to the mines. It could save 82 million litres of diesel a year.

Origin snaps up 1GW of solar projects as it plans for future without coal (Renew Economy): Origin Energy, one of Australia’s big three energy gentailers, has snapped up nearly 1 gigawatt of large scale solar projects as it plans for a life without coal after the planned closure of Eraring in 2025. The purchases include a NSW project that has planning approval for up to 900MW of capacity, and it represents the company’s biggest investment in large scale solar to date, although it is not its first.

Human waste turned into renewable energy at Australia's first biosolids gasification plant (ABC News): Logan, south of Brisbane, has become the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to turn human waste into renewable energy with the opening of Australia's first biosolids gasification plant. Water is taken out of the sewage sludge, which is then dried out before going into a furnace where it is burnt, and the gases produced are used to power the facility. What remains is a substance called biochar, which can be used as a high-grade fertiliser in the agricultural sector or in building materials.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

Renewables to be “the new baseload” by 2030, says McKinsey (Renew Economy): Solar and wind power are on track to become the new baseload electricity supply for global energy markets as early as 2030, and to relegate thermal generation from coal and gas to the role of back-up, a major new report has found. In its 2022 Global Energy Perspective, leading global consultancy McKinsey & Company says renewable energy is on track to account for 50% of the world’s power mix by 2030, and around 85% by 2050, thanks to the increasing cost competitiveness of new solar and wind capacity.

If Chevron, Exxon and Shell can’t get carbon capture right at Gorgon, who can? (Renew Economy): At a cost of more than $3 billion, Gorgon, the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the world has failed to deliver, underperforming its targets for the first five years of operation by about 50%. Carbon capture technology has historically been used as a method of enhanced oil recovery – selling captured carbon dioxide to oil companies to push more oil out of depleted wells, making any initial “carbon capture” negligible. According to the Global CCS Institute, about 73% of carbon capture globally is currently used for enhanced oil recovery projects – called Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).

Net zero by 2050 will hit a major timing problem technology can’t solve. We need to talk about cutting consumption (The Conversation): Many climate activists, scientists, engineers and politicians are trying to reassure us the climate crisis can be solved rapidly without any changes to lifestyle, society or the economy. To make the vast scale of change palatable, advocates suggest all we have to do is switch fossil fuels for renewable power, electric vehicles and energy efficiency technologies, add seaweed to livestock feed to cut methane and embrace green hydrogen for heavy industries such as steel-making. There’s just one problem: time. We’re on a very tight timeline to halve emissions within eight years and hit net zero by 2050. While renewables are making major inroads, the world’s overall primary energy use keeps rising. That means renewables are chasing a retreating target.?