August 2022

The First Fortnight of the 47th Parliament

featuring Ebony Bennett and Bill Browne

We are nearly at the end of the first sitting fortnight of the 47th Parliament, and it has been a packed agenda. This week we’re unpacking quick recap of how much things have changed in this new Parliament, and what changes are likely on the horizon. This was recorded live on Wednesday 3rd August 2022

July 2022

Follow the Money LIVE!

For this special live episode of Follow the Money, the panel will be discussing: A New Agenda for a New Parliament: Climate Action, International Affairs & Integrity – Yes Please! bringing together diverse knowledge on all fronts of climate & energy, international & security affairs, and integrity issues. This was recorded on Wednesday 13th July

June 2022

A Gas-Led Catastrophe

featuring Ebony Bennett and Mark Ogge

Last week, the Australian Energy Market Operator (or AEMO) suspended the National electricity spot market after it became ‘impossible to operate’ amid projected energy shortfalls. On today’s episode, we’re unpacking how we got here, and how to fix it. This was recorded on 21st June 2022 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia

Phasing out Fossil Fuels with Adam Bandt [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett and Richie Merzian

Australia cannot solve the climate crisis while we keep opening new gas fields and coal mines. In this episode we’re listening back to our webinar with Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP for a discussion about how Australia can rapidly transition to a clean energy economy and move beyond fossil fuels. This was recorded on Thursday

May 2022

An Australian COP29

featuring Allan Behm, Ebony Bennett and Richie Merzian

Australia has never hosted a United Nations climate conference (COP) and the recent proposal from the Labor Party to bid for the 2024 COP in partnership with the Pacific could shift Australia’s reputation from climate laggard to regional leader. Hosting a COP would also have a number of economic, diplomatic and security co-benefits. This was

March 2022

Are fossil fuel subsidies ending or accelerating?

featuring Alia Armistead, Ebony Bennett, Rod Campbell and Eliza Littleton

Australia has committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The United Nations Secretary General has said that it’s time to end fossil fuel subsidies, so are fossil fuel subsidies in Australia ending or accelerating? The Australia Institute has crunched the numbers. This episode was recorded on Tuesday 29 March 2022, prior to the federal

‘Adaptation saves lives, delay means death’

featuring Alia Armistead and Ebony Bennett

As residents of Lismore tried to escape massive floods on their roofs, the IPCC delivered its latest report on climate impacts as well as adaptation and the news is not good. It warns that Australia faces significant “cascading and compounding” risks due to climate change, including damage from bushfires, floods, drought and sea-level rise. But

February 2022

January 2022

Summer Series – Climate Change and the Pacific with the Hon Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Prime Minister of Samoa [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett, Richie Merzian and Ben Oquist

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode you’ll hear from the Prime Minister of Samoa, the Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa on climate change and the Pacific, as part of the Australia Institute’s Regional Climate Diplomacy Forum, with youth climate activist and UNICEF Pacific Ambassador

December 2021

Summer Series – Coal, Climate Change and Conservatives with Malcolm Turnbull [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett and Richard Denniss

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we’re bringing you a conversation about coal, climate change and conservatives and why NSW needs a moratorium on new coal mines with former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, who was in conversation with the Australia Institute’s chief

Summer Series – Rewiring Australia with Saul Griffith and Lily D’Ambrosio MP [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett, Richie Merzian and Ben Oquist

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode you’ll hear from Saul Griffith, clean tech entrepreneur and founder and Chief Scientist of Otherlab, in conversation with VIC Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Minister for Solar Homes, Lily D’Ambrosio about how Australians can

Summer Series – State of the Climate with Chris Bowen [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett and Richie Merzian

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we bring a discussion with Shadow Minister for Climate and Energy Chris Bowen, about how the globe’s climate emergency is Australia’s jobs opportunity. He was in conversaton with Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the

November 2021

October 2021

Junk Carbon Credits

featuring Ebony Bennett, Polly Hemming and Richie Merzian

Today’s episode examines carbon offsets, in other words, the credits companies can buy to offset their emissions. The Australia Institute, together with the Australian Conservation Foundation did a bit of digging into Australia’s offsets system and found some alarming things. Recorded live on 5 October 2021 The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy

September 2021

Fracked: Gas in the Northern Territory

featuring Ebony Bennett, Rod Campbell and Mark Ogge

Extracting gas from the Northern Territory through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is one of the largest potential sources of carbon pollution in the world. In this episode we explore the climate cost of a potential policy backflip on opening up the NT to fracking, as well as the community opposition and the economics of it all.

August 2021

Code Red for Humanity: the sixth IPCC report

featuring Alia Armistead, Ebony Bennett and Richie Merzian

The sixth IPCC assessment report sounded the alarm on the climate crisis, finding that human activity is changing the Earth’s climate in “unprecedented” ways, with some of the changes now inevitable and “irreversible”. We unpack the latest report and the urgency of change with Richie Merzian and Alia Armistead from the Australia Institute’s climate &

July 2021

What the bloody hell is a CBAM?

featuring Ebony Bennett, Hannah Melville-Rea and Richie Merzian

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

The wrong call

featuring Ebony Bennett and Richard Denniss

When the University of Newcastle appointed the Chair of Whitehaven Coal as its new Chancellor, it prompted a swift and public backlash from students, staff, philanthropists and alumni. Join our chief economist Richard Denniss as he unpacks the problems with the university’s decision, the community who challenged that decision and why Vaile ended up resigning

June 2021

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