Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,007 Australians about their views on the health and ‘in danger’ listing of the Great Barrier Reef. Respondents were asked whether they support or oppose UNESCO’s recommendation to add the Great Barrier Reef to the World Heritage ‘in-danger’ list. The results show that: Seven

All G7 members have sharpened their climate and trade policies to consider the use of carbon border adjustments. Australia should lean in rather than push back on the development of such a proposal while taking advantage of the opportunities in existing and new export industries.

The most urgent challenge facing the National Electricity Market (NEM) as it transitions to clean energy is not technological but regulatory; keeping coal power stations going for the minimum time required as new clean energy and system services supply is built. The Options Paper provides Australian governments with the missing pieces of this coal retirement

Budget incentives to increase investment are expensive, poorly targeted and will do little to improve productivity

日本語は以下 ↓ Japan uses a lot of coal. The 170 million tonnes the country burned in 2020 is enough to fill the Tokyo Dome 102 times over. Burning so much coal is a key reason Japan is the fifth-largest greenhouse emitter in the world. If the world is to avoid dangerous climate change, coal use

Woodside and BHP’s Scarborough to Pluto LNG project is the most polluting fossil fuel project currently proposed in Australia. It would result in annual carbon pollution equal to over 15 new coal fired power stations, and more pollution than the proposed Adani coal mine. The direct pollution from this project would increase WA’s total emissions

Since the middle of 2020, the Australian economy has recovered strongly. By many measures, the recovery to pre-COVID levels looks to be almost complete. But have the gas and gas processing sectors had much to do with it? An analysis of the data suggests the gas industry effectively made no contribution to the economic recovery,

The Australian Government claims that Australia has reduced its emissions by 19 per cent on 2005 levels and is on track to ‘meet and beat’ its Paris commitments. This claim relies on creative accounting and historical drops in emissions that are unrelated to government policy and do not underpin a net zero trajectory.

Welcome to the February- April 2021 bumper issue of the NEEA Report, presenting electricity-related data updated to the end of March 2021, data on gas consumption to the end of February, and petroleum product consumption to the end of January. Details on data sources and methods are included in the appendix. Key Findings: Between February

Existing mines in NSW’s Upper Hunter region are approved to mine 241 million tonnes per year, but mined just 150 million tonnes in 2019/20. The difference of 91.5 million tonnes shows that there is no need for new coal projects in the state. Filling in the Upper Hunter’s final voids would cost between $12 billion

Australia’s electricity industry constitutes a large and critical component of our national economic infrastructure. The industry produces $25 billion per year in value- added. It employs around 50,000 Australians, paying out $6 billion per year in wages and salaries. It makes $45 billion in annual purchases from a diverse and far-reaching supply chain, that provides

In 2020-21, Australian Federal and state governments provided a total of $10.3 billion worth of spending and tax breaks to assist fossil fuel industries. The $7.8 billion cost of the fuel tax rebate alone is more than the budget of the Australian Army. Over the longer term, $8.3 billion is committed to subsidising gas extraction,

The US is expected to commit to halving its emissions by 2030, based on 2005 levels. In other words, they will reduce emissions by 43% from today’s levels in the next decade, despite plans for massive COVID-19 economic stimulus. The new US climate target will abate 5.2 billion tonnes of CO2 and be a significant

What is the Federal Government’s Gas-Fired Recovery Plan? At its most base level it appears to be a series of taxpayer subsidies to export-focused gas companies. The process for allocating these subsidies is secretive, with no publicly available criteria, or even policy documents answering many of the basic questions of what the plan is aiming

The majority of voters (57.4%) in the NSW state seat of Upper Hunter support former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s call for a moratorium on new coal mine approvals and a remediation plan for existing mines for the Hunter Valley. The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 686 residents in the NSW state seat of

The federal government can improve Australia’s low electric vehicle uptake through upfront purchase incentives, CO2 emissions standards, a 100% gov fleet target and correcting its own misinformation and modelling.

23 new coal projects are proposed in NSW, with total production capacity equivalent to 15 Adani-sized mines. Ten Adanis’ worth of these projects are proposed for the Upper Hunter. Local and international factors mean not all of these projects can proceed. A moratorium should be placed on new coal approvals while a coherent regional planning framework is developed for the Hunter. This framework should be based around a world with net zero emissions in 2050.

This report has been prepared by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre (VEPC) for the Australia Institute to provide advice to the Energy Security Board’s Post-2025 redesign of the National Electricity Market (NEM). The terms of reference require us to examine the arrangements for the provision of inertia and system strength in the NEM. Inertia refers

Batteries and renewable energy can provide inertia and system strength in the National Electricity Market as coal is retired. The Post-2025 redesign is the opportunity to enable the energy transition with a fit-for-purpose security regime. This discussion paper summarises a technical study written by leading energy economist Professor Bruce Mountain and battery expert Dr Steven

The Australia Institute made a submission objecting to the proposal to expand and extend the Mangoola coal mine in the Hunter Valley.

The Australia Institute made a submission objecting to the proposal to expand and extend the Mt Pleasant coal mine in the Hunter Valley.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on the COAG Reform Fund Amendment (No Electric Vehicle Taxes) Bill 2020 (the No EV Tax Amendment).

Welcome to the January 2021 issue of the NEEA Report, with data relating to electricity in the National Electricity Market updated to the end of November 2020. This includes a short summary of the very important investment initiatives in New South Wales, announced by Minister Matt Kean at the end of November. This issue also

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Independent Planning Commission on the Tahmoor South Coal Project.

Gas companies operating in Australia have announced major job cuts through the pandemic. ABS Labour Force figures show that average employment in oil and gas extraction has declined by over 10% from 2019 to 2020, despite record production. If all Australian industries had responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with equivalent job cuts, Australia would have

The Australia Institute made a submission to the “Rapid Assessment Framework” consultation, a process to reform parts of the NSW planning process.

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on the Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation and Mitigation) Bill 2020 (The Climate Act). The Climate Act is modelled on the United Kingdoms’ Climate Change Act (2008). Similar legislation has been passed in New Zealand and Ireland, with Germany and Fiji currently considering similar

The Australia Institute made a submission on the consultation paper for the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources’ Enhanced offshore oil and gas decommissioning framework.

Rental properties are less likely to have solar PV installations than owner-occupied properties, resulting in higher electricity bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Government programs that coordinate and change the incentives faced by landlords, renters, property managers and solar installers can help address this imbalance.