The EU has announced it will introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as part of its efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This has big implications for the Australian economy, especially carbon intensive expor industries. This week we talk to Richie Merzian and Hannah Melville Rea about what CBAMs are, how they

Carbon taxes are coming to Australia whether we like it or not. They are coming despite the triumphant ‘axing of the tax’ in 2014. They are coming despite the updated but equally loud ‘technology not taxes’ sloganeering from the Morrison government in 2021. They are coming despite our government’s refusal to commit to a net-zero

Not the federal budget, the carbon budget. Prime Minister Scott Morrison keeps telling world leaders Australia will ‘meet and beat’ its Paris target and that Australia is ‘leading the world’ on emissions reduction, but if you dig into the carbon accounts the numbers tell a different story. Join Richie Merzian and Polly Hemming from the

The only viable long-term solution to our liquid fuel insecurity is to get off fossil fuels. Instead we are giving them taxpayer handouts When I was a kid, every year in early December we would go to the Geelong oil refinery in Corio. The refinery’s fire engine would cruise around, flash its lights and hand

I have sat through countless speeches on climate change from world leaders, both working for the government and outside it, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s rant at President Joe Biden’s climate summit last night was one of the worst performances I have ever seen. Technical glitches and the dreaded mute button were the least of Morrison’s worries,

Australia has no policy to incentivise electric vehicle uptake, are we destined to become a dumping ground for gas guzzlers? This week we talk to Richie Merzian and Audrey Quicke about what how Australia can electrify its transport sector, quick smart. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guest: Richie Merzian,

In our summer special series, we bring you some of our favourite guests from the Australia Institute’s webinar series in 2020. In this episode, Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program director at the Australia Institute speakers with Matt Kean, NSW Minister for Energy and the Environment to launch the Australia Institute’s Climate of the Nation

by Richie Merzian & Mark Ogge[Originally published in the Newcastle Herald, 18 November 2020] A gas-fired recovery from the economic damage caused by Covid-19 will not help the Hunter region.  In fact, a gas-fired recovery will struggle to employ anyone, except the gas executives that proposed the idea. The bottom line is, creating jobs in

The SA and VIC governments have announced a new electric vehicle tax – in other words, a great big new tax on clean air. In today’s episode we explain why this EV tax is terrible idea and unpack some of the arguments for and against it. Host: Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute

In this episode we unpack what a Biden Administration means for climate and foreign policy in Australia, with Richie Merzian and Allan Behm. The Australia Institute // @theAusinstituteHost: Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guests: Richie Merzian, director Climate & Energy Program // @richiemerzian Allan Behm, director International & Security Affairs program

by Richie Merzian[Originally published on the Guardian Australia, 04 November 2020] Whether Donald Trump loses or wins the presidential election, the US will officially withdraw from the Paris agreement on Wednesday. The US intention to withdraw was announced in mid-2017 and, exactly one year ago, formal notification was sent to the United Nations. It caps

Gas is promoted as a transitional fuel, but in this episode we explore just how polluting gas really is with Richie Merzian and Tom Swann from the Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy program.The Australia Institute // @theAUSInstituteHost: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennettGuests: Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Director at the

Fight for Planet A is the newest TV series from Craig Reucassel, a three-part documentary exploring the challenges of climate change, where our energy comes from, the health effects of transport and the carbon footprint of what we eat. It offers practical solutions for people to implement at home but as Craig points out, action

There are so many reasons for Australia to transition to electric vehicles, but despite warnings that Australia could be left behind without stronger policy direction regarding EVs, little progress has been made. In contrast, Norway is a world leader in EV policy.  Recorded live on 20 August as part of the Australia Institute’s Economics of

In this episode UN chief economist Elliott Harris talks about why it’s risky to withdraw fiscal stimulus too soon and why a clean green recovery makes sense for the long term, in conversation with Richie Merzian, director of the Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program. Part of the Australia Institute’s Economics of a Pandemic webinar

In this episode we talk to Zali Steggall, the independent member for Warringah, about the role of climate action in rebuilding after the pandemic, with Richie Merzian the director of the Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy program. From the Australia Institute’s ‘Economics of a Pandemic’ webinar series.Visit tai.org.au for all our latest research and analysisHost:

Energy Minister Angus Taylor is talking about a ‘gas-led recovery’ which would not only make electricity prices higher, but would obviously make climate change worse, so in this episode we talk to director of the Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program, Richie Merzian, about the other global crisis we’re facing: climate change.Visit tai.org.au for all

by Richie Merzian[Originally published by 10 Daily, 11 Feb 2020] In a matter of days, many Australians have been thrust from one extreme to another — from bushfires that refuse to be put out, to flooding rain that seemingly won’t stop. It’s a cruel irony. The unprecedented bushfires that devastated Eastern Australia over the summer

by Richie Merzian[Originally published on 10 Daily, 01 October 2019] Last Wednesday Prime Minister Scott Morrison took to the world stage, using Australia’s annual address to the United Nations (UN) to talk about the environment. He was two days too late. And everyone at the UN, diplomats and commentators alike, knew it. Having been involved

by Richie Merzian[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 24 August 2019] If fuelling global carbon pollution with fossil fuel exports was an Olympic sport, Australia would get a podium place. New Australia Institute research shows Australia is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels in the world – behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia. This expansive

by Richie Merzian[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 10 August 2019] Late last Friday – a timeslot where ministers are known to announce policies they are most proud of – the Minister for Energy, Angus Taylor, ordered a parliamentary inquiry into nuclear energy.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus

by Richie Merzian[Oringinally published in The Canberra Times, 27 July 2019] The single greatest threat to Australia and the Pacific is climate change. But given Australia’s actions over the last 12 months, you wouldn’t know it. The Australian government is only willing to pay lip service to what addressing that threat requires: serious climate action.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly claimed Australia will meet its Paris commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030 ‘in a canter’, but is this true? As we approach the next United Nations climate negotiations in the Polish town of Katowice, the Institute’s director of Climate & Energy Richie

By Richie Merzian, Director of The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program.  [Read article in the New Matilda Here] Private and public investment in a safe climate future is growing, despite the best and worst efforts of some of the world’s leading polluters, writes Richie Merzian. On a reclaimed swamp fringing the outskirts of the industrial