Day 23: 'We just want to know what the rules are'
An introductory weekday newsletter from Schwartz Media. Counting the days since Australia had an energy policy.
Good morning and welcome to Day 23.
Today in summary: The Coalition will officially dump the NEG, paving the way for the Opposition to take it up; Senators debated the Greens’ bill to prevent public funds going to coal-fired power stations, and then Clive Palmer announced he would fund one; Victoria continued its pre-election sweeteners on renewables; and the US state of California moved further away from the Trump administration’s energy policy as Governor Jerry Brown headed to the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.
— Charis
Today’s policy spin level: 💨💨💨
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to use his first party room meeting to officially kill off the National Energy Guarantee. Party spokespeople, including former Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg have already admitted the grave has been dug, but a spike in future prices has industry “beside itself,” with one insider telling the Australian Financial Review’s Phil Coorey:
"We are headed towards an environment of zero emissions, they need to embrace the reality. We just want to know what the rules are."
The transcript of last night’s Senate debate on the Greens’ Coal-Fired Power Funding Prohibition Bill makes for depressing reading.
The Greens accused Labor and the Coalition of waving through coal and gas mine approvals in exchange for millions of dollars of campaign funding.Liberal Senator James Paterson said if renewables really were cheaper than coal then there would be no need for the renewable energy target, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Labor Senator Kim Carr said the government’s idea of an energy policy was to spend $9m on its “Powering Forward” TV ads.
One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson said the Greens are fearmongering on damage to the Great Barrier Reef while China is building around four new power stations a week. Helpful, huh?
Shortly after, mining magnate Clive Palmer announced his company Waratah Coal would shunt A$1.5 billion towards a coal-fired power station alongside its Galilee Basin open cut mine, with construction planned to kick off in mid-2020.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews continues the pre-election vote grab with a promise of 10,000 half-price solar batteries for Victorian households that already have solar panels. It comes as the Victorian government said its first renewable energy auction would deliver 900 megawatts of new energy, against an expectation of 680 megawatts. Victoria has promised that 25% of its electricity generation will come from renewable sources by 2020. The Victorian Liberal Party has promised to scrap the state’s renewable energy target.
The heavy hitters of US climate change policy including environmentalist and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change head Patricia Espinosa, and former US Vice President Al Gore will join California Governor Jerry Brown for the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco tomorrow. It comes as California emerges from another horrific fire season, but is largely a talk fest that goes against the Trump administration’s plan to pull out of the Paris agreement. Here’s what the experts think. Brown took the opportunity to sign a bill blocking new federal offshore oil drilling along California’s coast. On Monday he signed a bill requiring the state to receive 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2026; 60%by 2030 and 100% by 2045.
Geopolitics
South Korea has fallen into line with US demands it stop importing oil from Iran. The US is due to impose sanctions on the Islamic republic on November 4, and the Trump administration has been busy encouraging other oil producing nations to keep their output up ahead of the deadline. US Energy Secretary Rick Perry will meet his Saudi Arabian and Russian counterparts this week.
Bloomberg | Forbes
Coming Up
The US Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources will hold a hearing on the role of US LNG in meeting European energy demand. The hearing will be webcast on Sep.13.
The Commentariat
The Australian has used its editorial to support the killing off of the NEG and call for Australia to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
“It is difficult to fathom why the Coalition still feels the need to assuage concerns expressed by their critics on the Left about meeting the Paris targets. They are 12 years from fruition, few other countries are meeting them and our contribution is virtually meaningless because global emissions continue to rise substantially.”
Three more things
On its current trajectory, Australia will reach 50% renewable electricity by 2025, according to a new report from ANU.
Even before US President Donald Trump moved to wind back measures to meet the Paris climate agreement, the US wasn’t on track to meet the agreed target of a 26-28% reduction in emission by 2025. But the trajectory could be turned around and the target beaten, argues the Climate Leadership Council, by implementing its carbon price plan in 2021
Fossil fuel demand will peak in the 2020s with investors likely to face large risks on the other side, detailed in a new report from the Carbon Tracker Initiative.
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