New analysis from the Australia Institute reveals that while the Federal Government is considering taxpayer support for a new coal power station to be built in Queensland, there are currently no coal power plants under construction anywhere else in Australia or North America, and only one plant being built in the Western Europe. Key Findings: 

New research from The Australia Institute has revealed that Victoria’s ageing fleet of coal fired power stations are breaking down more often than power stations anywhere else in the National Energy Market (NEM), jeopardising energy security and pushing up prices. Covering a two-year period from December 2017-2019, the report from the institute’s Gas & Coal

New research from The Australia Institute shows that the New South Wales Government’s attempts to force planners to ignore the carbon emissions of the state’s coal exports contradicts NSW climate policy, the Paris Agreement, corporate expectations and economic opportunities for growth. Key findings NSW coal emissions are bigger than direct emissions from France and the

An urgent, two year extension of funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is required to maintain its critical role in improving energy reliability and reducing costs as Australia transitions to low-carbon sources, The Australia Institute has said. The proposal to provide ARENA $230 million per year for 2022-23 and 2023-24 is outlined in a report and

New national survey research from The Australia Institute reveals most Australians have been personally impacted by the bushfires and smoke, including millions missing work or suffering health impacts. Additionally, the research shows concern about the impacts of climate change are especially high among those directly affected by the fires, as is the wish for the

A National Climate Disaster Fund, financed by a levy on fossil fuel producers, would help South Australia to recover from the current bushfire crisis and prepare for the worsening fire seasons expected in the future, a leading think tank has said. The Australia Institute is proposing the creation of a National Climate Disaster Fund, financed by a

The current bushfire crisis has intensified Australians’ concern about climate change and its impacts, according to new polling from the Australia Institute’s Climate of the Nation. The Australia Institute commissioned YouGov, which surveyed 1,033 Australians between 8 and 12 January 2020 on issues relating to climate change and the bushfires. Climate of the Nation is

New research from The Australia Institute has found that two thirds of Australians believe the country is facing a climate emergency and that the Government should mobilise all of society to tackle the issue, like they did during the World Wars. Key findings; –          Two in three Australians (66%) agree that Australia is facing a

The government has ignored repeated warnings by the insurance industry over many years about the increasing costs of disasters as a result of climate change and the need to prepare. Last year insurance companies slammed the Morrison government’s failure to fund climate change resilience programs in the 2019 Budget. Just some examples of these warnings

The Australia Institute has welcomed the Government’s $2 billion bushfire recovery fund announcement, but has questioned why regular Australian taxpayers are being asked to pay when a levy on fossil fuel producers would be a more appropriate way to raise the required funding. “Regular Australians should not be forced to pay while fossil fuel producers

The unprecedented national bushfire crisis has highlighted the urgent need for a National Climate Disaster Levy to pay for the immense impending costs of these ongoing disasters. Today the Australia Institute is launching a full-page advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald renewing its call for the levy. Damage from the catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in

Calls renew for a National Climate Disaster Fund funded by a levy on the emissions of fossil fuel production. The National Climate Disaster would help fund the soaring cost of Australia’s ongoing national bushfire crisis. Australia Institute modelling shows that the levy, set initially at $1 per tonne of embodied emissions, would raise $1.5 billion per

New research shows South Australia is cashing in from the state’s renewables boom, with monthly average wholesale prices in SA to be the lowest of all five state regions in the National Electricity Market (NEM) for the last two months. The Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program has released their latest National Energy Emissions Audit,

Norwegian oil giant Equinor has been given approval by the regulating body NOPSEMA to drill in the Great Australian Bight, in direct opposition to public opinion, The Australia Institute has said. More than four in five South Australians (84%) want to see the Great Australian Bight given World Heritage Protection and a majority of all

The Australia Institute has today released a detailed proposal for a National Climate Disaster Fund (NCDF), to pay for the escalating costs of natural disasters driven by climate change. Money would be raised for the Fund through a $1 levy per tonne of carbon pollution on fossil fuel production in Australia, which would currently raise

New research shows that the Kimberley region is set to experience a dramatic increase in extreme heat including up to a tenfold increase in days over 40 degrees in Broome if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced in line with the Paris Agreement.   The report, by the Australia Institute using CSIRO and BoM data, shows

According to a new report released today, rather than reduce its emissions today Australia is claiming it can rely on ‘credits’ generated decades ago under old accounting rules in a separate treaty that have no place in the Paris regime. The report commissioned by the Australia Institute from Climate Analytics, examines the nature, scale and

On climate policy Australia scores zero out of 100. As Energy Minister Angus Taylor prepares to address the UN climate talks in Madrid, the latest edition of the annual Climate Change Performance Index has Australia dropping one place to 56th – ahead of only Iran, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Saudi Arabia and the USA –

New Research from The Australia Institute has revealed that a majority (62%) of Australians support a national target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or earlier. While every Australian State and Territory already has a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, the Federal Government has refused to commit to the policy. The research

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Total Environment Centre and The Australia Institute welcome the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (the Commission) announcement that it will introduce wholesale demand response earlier than planned, but say more work is urgently needed to get the best outcome for households. The Commission has today announced it will postpone a final

The Queensland Government has announced its royalty deal arrangement with Adani, due by Saturday 30th November 2019, has been delayed yet again and no new deadline has been set. “This loan deal should never have been on the table, it is against Queensland’s interests and will be to Queensland’s shame if it is waved through,”

New research shows that coal-fired electricity generation is on the decline across the National Electricity Market (NEM), particularly in Victoria where the continued shut down of the Loy Yang A power station has put Victorian coal generation levels at their lowest since the National Energy Market commenced 21 years ago. The Australia Institute Climate &

New research from The Australia Institute has found that, for the first time, more than four in five South Australians (84%) support World Heritage Protection for the Great Australian Bight. That is a 7% increase, when compared to polling undertaken in March of 2019. The research also shows that two out of three South Australians

New Research from The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program has identified serious concerns with hydrogen demand projections, regularly cited by State and Federal Governments, energy experts and industry figures, which overstate potential export demand by a factor of up to 11. Due to this supposedly high demand, COAG Ministers will be asked to support

The offshore oil and gas regulator NOPSEMA has once again taken issue with the environmental plan submitted by Equinor as part of their attempts to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight. Citing a lack of information relating to ‘consultation, source control, oil spill risk, and matters protected under Part 3 of the Environment Protection

If Norwegian company Equinor is given permission to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, it will likely pay the Norwegian Government more than it will pay in Australian Government taxes and up to 27 times more than they will pay to the South Australian Government, a new report from The Australia Institute has

The fight to protect NSW climate laws has stepped up, with experts launching a statewide television commercial today to send Premier Gladys Berejikilian a clear message – don’t put coal over climate. Under unprecedented pressure from the coal industry, the Berejiklian Government is moving to amend the NSW laws that require the full climate change

New research shows that an increase in diesel combustion emissions during FY11 to FY18 almost completely cancels out the decrease in emissions from electricity generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM) over the same period. The Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program has released their latest National Energy Emissions Audit, analysing the electricity sector over

47 scientists and experts have signed an open letter urging the NSW Government not to overrule NSW laws that require climate change impacts to be considered in the assessment of new coal mines. The NSW Government is reportedly set to legislate restrictions on its own Independent Planning Commission preventing it from considering downstream greenhouse gas

The claim that Australia ranks first globally per capita on renewable energy investment is both misleading and incorrect, according to new research from the Australia Institute. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Morrison claimed Australia has the highest per capita investment in clean energy in the world. This claim was