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November 2022
Polling – Gas Industry Intervention
In November, The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians about their views on possible government interventions in the gas industry. The results show strong support for the government to intervene in the gas industry, either by imposing export controls on gas exporters if they do not meet local demand, or by
Climate of the Nation 2022
The Australia Institute’s annual Climate of the Nation Report provides a comprehensive account of changing Australian beliefs and attitudes towards climate change, including its causes, impacts and solutions. For the first time, Climate of the Nation 2022 includes a chapter on Australians’ views on transport solutions, including quantitative polling and qualitative focus group studies.
October 2022
State-sponsored Greenwash
It is no accident that there are no credible policies or regulatory measures to address rising emissions by industry in Australia. Nor is it an accident that there are no robust mechanisms to address misleading climate claims.
Polling – Fossil fuel sponsorship
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,409 Australians on their attitudes towards fossil fuel sponsorship. Results show that the majority of Australians agree with statements about limiting fossil fuel sponsorship. Key results: Three in five Australians (60%) agree that fossil fuel sponsorship is the new cigarette sponsorship, more than double the number
Submission on draft terms of reference for Valeria Coal Project environmental impact statement
The Australia Institute made a submission to the Queensland Coordinator-General’s consultation on terms of reference for the Valeria Coal Project environmental impact statement. The economic assessment of the project should include coal market scenarios that reflect climate action required to meet the Paris Agreement. Methods used by coal industry economists to downplay the costs of carbon emissions should be explicitly ruled out.
War gains: LNG Windfall Profits 2022
Energy prices spiked worldwide following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting restrictions on Russia’s gas exports. This has in turn increased the value of Australian LNG exports and the profits of LNG companies. We estimate the war related windfall gain to LNG companies in 2021-22 at between $26 billion and $40 billion.
Submission to Chubb Carbon Offsets Inquiry
The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Independent Review of Australia’s Carbon Credits (the Review) and we would be pleased to engage directly with the Review in the coming weeks. We understand that other stakeholders have been sought out for direct consultation already.
Submission on Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Climate Trigger) Bill 2022
The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications regarding the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Climate Trigger) Bill 2022. This bill would fill an important gap in Australia’s environmental laws and would complement proposed changes to the Safeguard Mechanism.
Safeguarding fossil fuels: Submission
The Safeguard Mechanism has to date safeguarded polluters. Extensive reforms are required to ban new gas and coal entrants, limit the use of carbon credits and develop an alternative fixed price payment to be directed by the Commonwealth to build climate solutions.
September 2022
Polling Research: Boothby
uComms conducted a survey of 901 residents in the federal seat of Boothby on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evening of 7 September 2022 using self-completed automated voice polling methodologies. Key Results: A majority of voters in the seat of Boothby (53.5%) believe that Australia has some responsibility for the pollution from Australian
August 2022
Submission: Climate Change & Consequential Amendments Bills 2022
The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Climate Change Bill 2022 and Consequential Amendments Bill 2022 (hereafter ‘the Bills’). The Bills are a valuable framework to ensure transparency and accountability of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, including by ensuring the provision of evidence-based advice from the Climate Change Authority to inform
Submission on Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022 [Provisions]
The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Electric Car Discount) Bill 2022 [Provisions]. The Bill is a welcome first step to reducing transport emissions in Australia, but much more needs to be done.
Fuelling efficiency
Australia has become an outlier in the global light vehicle market, with a comparatively inefficient and anachronistic vehicle fleet. In 2018, the average carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity for new passenger vehicles in Australia was 169.8gCO2/km compared to 129.9gCO2/km in the United States, 120.4gCO2/km in Europe and 114.6gCO2/km in Japan.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
As tensions in the Pacific and war in Europe continue to escalate, Australia could play an important global role in reducing the spread and threat of nuclear weapons at an important upcoming conference in New York, according to a new research report. The Australian Government has been urged to adopt 4 key policy goals to
July 2022
4.3 billion tonnes of emissions is not OK
The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to appeal Report 1727 North West Shelf Project Extension Proposal. The role of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm. In recommending the approval of a 50-year extension of Australia’s most polluting fossil fuel project, the North West Shelf
June 2022
Renewables & rural Australia
The technological shift away from coal to renewable energy for electricity generation is also a spatial shift. We are moving electricity generators to new dedicated Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) in parts of rural Australia that have not hosted energy utilities at this scale before. This report presents the first significant analysis of the spatial aspect
Foreign investment in Australia
Despite the importance placed on foreign investment, and public sensitivity to it, little data is available on the level of foreign ownership of Australian companies. What data is available often confuses legal and beneficial ownership or is based on limited sample size. The research report comes amid growing calls for a windfall profits tax on
May 2022
Next stop: Zero emissions buses by 2030
Shifting from private passenger vehicle use to zero emissions public transport will help curb Australia’s rising transport emissions. When considering other factors, such as population growth – particularly in urban areas – and the significant non-CO2 pollutant emissions associated with traditional diesel buses, it is clear that electrification of buses should be a central pillar
Polling – What is ‘clean hydrogen’?
The government defines ‘clean hydrogen’ as “hydrogen produced using renewable energy or using fossil fuels with substantial carbon capture and storage.”
Brown Coal, Greenwash
Despite being labelled as ‘clean energy’, none of the emissions HESC has produced in its pilot phase have been buried through Carbon Capture and Storage.
APPEA members who pay no income tax
Five of Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association’s (APPEA) most prominent member companies have paid no income tax for at least the past seven years despite combined income from their Australian operations of $138 billion. A sixth company, Santos, paid just $6 million on $28.9 billion of income, and paid no income tax from 2015
COP29 in Australia
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. This shift should be accompanied by substantive changes to Australia’s climate policy, including on Australia’s climate
An Environmental Fig Leaf
Emissions have increased under Australia’s only climate policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
April 2022
Over a Barrel
Australia is precariously dependent on imported fuel. Demand-side solutions, particularly electrifying transport, should be adopted to improve Australia’s fuel security and increase energy independence.
Waratah Coal v Youth Verdict court case
The Australia Institute’s Research Director Rod Campbell was an expert witness in the precedent-setting case against Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal Project in the Galilee Basin. The case was brought by Indigenous-led Queensland group Youth Verdict, who were represented by the Environmental Defenders’ Office (EDO).
Hot air won’t stop global warming
The Australian Government has identified carbon trading as a means to “work together to bring down emissions” across the Indo-Pacific region and to “help countries meet and report against their NDCs” through the use of carbon markets. It is unclear how Australia’s plans for fossil fuel expansion and pursuit of cheap abatement overseas will bring down emissions or help countries meet their climate targets.
March 2022
Review of Tasmania’s Living Marine Resource Management Act 1995
Tasmania hosts some of the highest marine diversity and endemism on Earth, world’s best practice expertise in marine science and governance, and punches above its weight in economic contributions, thanks to our ocean.
Glendell Continued Operations Project
The economic assessments of the Glendell proposal overstate its benefits and understate its costs. Applying current carbon prices to only its direct emissions gives a net present value of between negative $460 and negative $570 million. This excludes consideration of the potential heritage and biodiversity impacts.
Fossil fuel subsidies in Australia (2021-22)
In 2021-22, Australian Federal and state governments provided a total of $11.6 billion worth of spending and tax breaks to assist fossil fuel industries. This is a 12% increase on last year’s figure and 56 times the budget of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency. Over the longer term, $55.3 billion is committed to subsidising gas and oil extraction, coal-fired power, coal railways, ports, carbon capture and storage, and other measures.