1. Fossil fuel exports.
   Minister Bowen did not address, and no one asked about, the fact that Australia is the world’s third largest fossil fuel exporter. With over 100 new fossil fuel projects in the development pipeline, as well as four new coal mines and at least 116 new gas wells approved since 2022, the Australian Government shows no intention of changing this status. Just this week, the government opened areas of Commonwealth waters off the coasts of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania for offshore gas exploration.
2. Emissions outside of electricity.
   Minister Bowen talked A LOT about electricity—from renewables, nuclear and fossil fuels—but made no mention of the fact that emissions outside the electricity sector have barely changed since 2005, with the government relying on land-use accounting to claim large emissions reductions. Transport emissions have increased 19% since 2005 and continue to rise.
3. Fossil fuel subsidies.
   Minister Bowen didn’t mention that last year, state and federal governments gave $14.5 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. And he was silent on the question of increasing government revenue from the fossil fuel industry, even though the gas industry pays minimal royalties and minimal tax while generating enormous profits.

The list doesn’t have to end here—the Government’s reliance on carbon offsets weren’t mentioned in the speech either.

Instead of discussing these crucial points, Minister Bowen spent almost all his time weighing into the nuclear versus renewables debate and taking shots at the Coalition. This newest front in the climate wars is a convenient distraction from an ugly truth: bipartisan consensus on expanding and subsidising fossil fuels. It’s much easier for the government to have a fight with the opposition about nuclear than to genuinely reduce Australia’s use and export of fossil fuels.

Minister Bowen flagged his government’s transformation of Australia into a renewable energy “superpower” with a booming green hydrogen export industry. But crunching the numbers reveals that projected green hydrogen production is barely enough to meet current hydrogen use, let alone feed an export market. In reality, Australia is far more set on remaining a fossil fuel superpower than a renewable one.

The Coalition’s “ill-informed nuclear frolic”, to use Minister Bowen’s phrase, may indeed “all come down to a desire to do absolutely nothing” about climate change. But in light of all the things Bowen chose not to mention in his speech, it’s clear that Labor isn’t doing much about climate change either.

On the topic of “Australia’s energy choice in the critical decade”, Minister Bowen and the press gallery seemed happy to focus on some choices in the hopes that the public would forget about all the others.