NEM Fossil generation failure in the 2017 heatwaves During the February 2017 heatwave across south eastern Australia, 14% of fossil generating capacity (3,600 MW) failed during critical peak demand periods in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland as a result of faults, largely related to the heat. Comparative energy technology costs Electricity from new

3600 MW, or 14%, of coal and gas generation failed during the February 2017 heatwave. Report calls for the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) to require “heat safe” back-up for coal and gas plants. New analysis released today by The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program shows that coal and gas failed to provide energy security

When the Climate Institute has closed its doors, The Australia Institute was honoured to be selected to carry forward some of The Institute’s work as part of our new Climate & Energy Program. One of the important initiatives being carried forward under The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program is the Climate of the Nation report on

**Following the closure of the Climate Institute on 30 June, its significant remaining funds and intellectual property will be transferred to the Australia Institute, to help carry forward the Australia Institute’s climate change-related research and advocacy.** The Climate Institute has now been conducting its Climate of the Nation attitudinal research for more than a decade. It is

The Australian Government has put $1.3 billion of taxpayers’ money towards Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) initiatives since 2003, with zero large scale operational projects to show for it. A new report from The Australia Institute’s, Money for nothing, has found that despite years of generous taxpayer funding, there are no large-scale CCS projects operating

The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Scientific inquiry into hydraulic fracturing in the Northern Territory. Our submission focuses on Theme 7.7 of the Background and Issues Paper, economic impacts and also addresses other themes that the Institute has conducted research on.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has released a new advertising campaign titled ‘Making the future possible’. The campaign involves two videos and a website promoting mining’s role in the Australian economy and the benefits of new coal-fired electricity generators. However, some claims are incorrect and many are misleading, being presented without context and conflating

Energy systems are changing whether we like it or not. Currently there is a lack of policy to ensure that this change is orderly and just. There are already examples of communities that are being affected by these changes and the current policy vacuum.The Australia Institute has published many reports and submissions related to coal

A new report by the University of Melbourne Energy Institute has found that unmeasured methane leakage and fugitive emissions from unconventional gasfields could cause Australia to fail its Paris climate commitments. The report, commissioned by The Australia Institute, found that: Several major potential sources of methane emissions are assumed to be zero under Australia’s accounting

Australia has a long history of prioritising fossil fuels over renewables in research and development (R&D) funding. ARENA turned this around, making Australia a world leader in renewables. Government plans to cut ARENA’s funding while providing new funds for fossil fuel R&D risks putting Australia back decades in energy R&D.

Climate of the Nation is Australia’s longest running survey benchmarking community attitudes on climate change.

A new report by The Australia Institute outlines a solution to the twin problems of incentives for retirement of coal fired generation and funding rehabilitation liabilities.

This research was supported by funding from The Australia Institute and other groups, and conducted by the University of Melbourne Energy Institute. Dramatic changes in the eastern-Australian gas market are prompting projections of sharp declines in domestic gas demand. Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) indicate that gas demand in eastern Australia peaked

The Howard Government decision in 2001 to cut indexation has cost the budget more than $46 billion in tax revenue to date. If no change is made the total cost to the budget is projected to top $160 billion by 2025. Additional carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the policy are projected to reach 16 million

UPDATE: The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on 13 April 2015 released a report confirming the slump in gas demand. At the time of the initial release of The Dash from Gas report, the industry and many politicians continued to warn of a potential ‘gas shortage’. A new report commissioned by The Australia Institute shows gas

The Cobbora proposal is to develop an open cut coal mine near the towns of Gulgong and Dunedoo, east of Dubbo, NSW. The mine would extract up to 20 million tonnes per annum of run of mine coal. The mine is proposed by the NSW government-owned Cobbora Holding Company.  Our submission focuses mainly on the

The proposal is to develop an underground coal mine near Wyong, situated between Newcastle and Sydney, NSW. The mine would extract up to 5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of coal which would require little further processing to reach saleable quality. The mine has attracted controversy due to its potential impacts on the local environment,

This week energy company AGL released a research paper entitled Solving for ‘x’ – the New South Wales Gas Supply Cliff. The paper contains plenty of economic terms and algebra, but these merely serve to provide camouflage for another reiteration of the gas industry’s claims – that NSW is running low on gas and the

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Australia needs to change the way it uses energy and many of those changes will be taking place over the next decade.  Our current reliance on coal is unsustainable, while Australia’s considerable reserves of unconventional gas – tight, shale and coal seam gas (CSG) – are raising controversy after being

The Climate Institute has been measuring the ebbs and flows of Australian attitudes to climate change and its solutions through its Climate of the Nation research and reports since 2007.

This Spotlight Report provides an objective benchmark of attitudes to the issue of climate change in 2012 in Australia and a rigorous analysis, qualitative and quantitative, of the pros and cons of climate change and its solutions.

The Gillard Government is committed to introducing a price on carbon pollution by July 2012 however the details of the price, the sectors of the economy that will be covered by the scheme and the design features of the compensation package that is likely to accompany the carbon price are currently being negotiated by the

The introduction of a carbon price in Australia in July 2012 will raise more than $10 billion per year, help influence industrial and household decision making and, inevitably, increase the costs and reduce the profits of some businesses. Such increases in cost and the subsequent change in behaviour are, of course, the objective of introducing