The Australia Institute made a submission to the Climate Change Authority’s review of the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). The ERF includes the ‘safeguard mechanism’ which is failing by allowing emissions to rise, undoing the modest abatement purchased under the ERF and abatement achieved in the electricity sector.

Australia’s fossil fuel exports are more than double direct domestic emissions in CO2 potential. Such ‘scope 3’ emissions should be reported and included in government accounting. Mining lobby objections do not stack up and are contradicted by the actions of many of their own members companies. Emissions data release should be insulated from the Minister

Victorian brown coal-fired power plants are some of the worst performing stations in the National Electricity Market. With hot and dry conditions forecast for the rest of this summer, Victoria is at risk of further breakdowns of aging coal generators, insufficient supply and blackouts.

The Commonwealth Government has made technology central to reducing emissions to 2030, but the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has only $200 million to allocate to new projects. With multi-party support for the Agency, legislation to extend its funding should be urgently passed.

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.

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.

A National Climate Disaster Fund should be established to reduce the cost burden of natural disaster response and recovery to Australian households and taxpayers.It should be funded by a levy on coal, gas and oil production, as multinational fossil fuel companies profit from climate change but make a very small contribution to the communities that

Increases in extreme heat events in the Kimberley region will have severe impacts on the wellbeing of people in the region, particularly indigenous communities. It will also impact key industries, including tourism and agriculture, and damage natural ecosystems.

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.

The rush to develop Australia’s hydrogen industry is based on export opportunities, especially to Japan and Korea, which have been vastly overstated by comparison with Japanese and Korean targets. Developing hydrogen with coal and gas risks locking in increased emissions, given the track record of carbon capture and storage. Australia should focus on hydrogen produced

The open letter signed by 47 experts co-ordinated and published by the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program and complete list of signatories is reproduced in full below. View full media release here. An open letter to the Government of New South Wales Allowing new coal mines in NSW is incompatible with the NSW Government’s

The ACT will soon become the first Australian jurisdiction to achieve a transition from a fossil fuel based supply to 100% renewable electricity. Just seven other jurisdictions have achieved this, in Germany, Austria and Spain.

The annual Climate of the Nation report has tracked Australian attitudes on climate change for over a decade. Climate of the Nation 2019 is the second report produced by The Australia Institute, continuing the work of The Climate Institute (2007-2017). Key findings include: 81% of Australians are concerned that climate change will result in more

Australia is the world’s third biggest exporter and fifth biggest miner of fossil fuels by CO2 potential. Its exports are behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia, and far larger than Iraq, Venezuela and any country in the EU. Yet Australia’s economy is more diverse and less fossil fuel intensive than many other exporters. Australia has an opportunity and obligation to decarbonise its

Australia’s use of controversial Kyoto carbon credits to cut its Paris Agreement target in half completely undermines Pacific climate action.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee’s inquiry into the Coal-Fired Power Funding Prohibition Bill 2017. The submission highlights our existing research on Australia’s energy market and coal-fired power generation. A coal phase out by 2030 is needed to meet our Paris Agreement commitments. Coal communities are better served

The Department of the Environment and Energy is conducting a Liquid Fuel Security review and public consultations on the Interim Report. This report is an edited version of The Australia Institute’s submission to that consultation. The Interim Report outlines significant risks to Australia’s transport energy security. Addressing these security risks requires reducing oil consumption and accelerating the transition to electric

The projected rise in extremely hot days as a result of global warming presents a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of the Queensland community. There has already been a clear increase in numbers of these extreme heat days over recent decades, as demonstrated in our profiles on: The Gold Coast; Brisbane; The Sunshine

$18 billion dollar gamble on climate action loophole The Government’s reliance on dated carbon credits to extinguish over half of its Paris Agreement target might not be authorised, forcing it to purchase last-minute international permits or drastically reduce emissions to cover huge gap.    New analysis by the Australia Institute identified numerous legal, diplomatic and

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Rail Access Undertaking – Review of the rate of return and remaining mine life – Draft Report (‘Draft Report’). The review assesses aspects of charges that apply to access several rail networks in NSW. Specifically, it considers the rate of return Government-owned RailCorp, can use in

Documents obtained by the Australia Institute shows that mining is experiencing a crisis in public trust among Queenslanders, with coal mining particularly unfavourable.  The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) commissioned polling company Ipsos to conduct this research on the industry’s reputation because it has observed a “decline in positive (public) sentiment” about the QLD resource sector, and can