If Nick Xenophon holds the balance of power in the Senate after the election, climate change policy will get very interesting. Here’s one possible scenario — which sees an ETS return, but in a different form.
READ MOREArticles by Tristan Edis
A free kick for Abbott? Carbon accounting for Direct Action
A change to the way Australia’s emissions are accounted for could make it a lot easier for us to meet our 2020 emissions reduction target. It may prove to be a big gift to the Coalition.
READ MOREWhy business wants the carbon price to stay
With questions hanging over the Coalition’s climate policy, it’s becoming obvious the business community wants the carbon price to stay. Here’s four reasons why …
READ MOREHold the panic over the EU carbon price plunge
Claims Australia’s carbon price is in terrible trouble due to the price plunge in Europe’s carbon scheme need to be seen for what they are. Australia’s polluters have a sweet deal from our carbon price, and they know it.
READ MOREThe Power Index: carbon cutters, Anthea Harris at #2
Anthea Harris has arguably been more involved in pricing carbon pollution than anyone else in Australia. How does the Climate Change Authority chief and veteran carbon adviser get things done in this fraught, controversial field? A background in consulting helped.
READ MOREThe Power Index: carbon cutters, Michael Fraser at #3
Michael Fraser has a dual personality: he heads up a company with a massive carbon footprint that is also heavily involved in renewable energy. So why is he walking both sides of the line — and how did this quiet company man rise to the top? Climate Spectator and Crikey investigate.
READ MOREIs Germany now done with renewable energy?
Two German politicians are keen to rein in feed-in tariff support for renewable energy in Germany. But that doesn’t mean the European powerhouse is done with clean energy altogether.
READ MORENo denying coal’s developed world decline
There’s no hiding from coal’s long-term decline in Europe and the United States, irrespective of cherry-picked data floating around cyberspace about a coal revival. Don’t believe what you read.
READ MOREAbbott’s adviser hates wind farms, doubts climate change
Tony Abbott’s latest Coalition policy statement remains short on climate policy detail. More worrying is his selection of a noted anti-wind farm advocate and climate change sceptic as lead business adviser.
READ MOREWill Abbott’s axe really kill carbon trading in Australia?
Tony Abbott is likely to rescind the current cap-and-trade legislation if he wins the next election, but it’s easy to see the potential for a new carbon pricing scheme to develop out of the stump his axe created.
READ MOREA year of scare: how the carbon tax played out
The scare campaign around the carbon price has been demonstrated to be a complete hoax. But it took 12 months of painful debate to get there. Here’s how the year in emissions reduction played out.
READ MOREWhy Gillard can’t prevent gold-plating energy infrastructure
Julia Gillard has launched a media offensive on power prices, but her proposals — largely plagiarised — fall well short of her claim of banishing “gold plating”. Useful reform appears some way off.
READ MORERenewable energy hit by an irrelevant debate
Should the renewable energy target be reduced? Origin Energy is calling it for it to be a “real” 20% share of the market, but just how does one classify “real”?
READ MOREWhy 4 degrees will end the world as we know it: World Bank
The World Bank has produced an alarming report that puts in context the risks of inaction on emissions reduction and climate change. It doesn’t make for pleasant reading.
READ MOREIs Ferguson in a parallel universe or just the real world?
The present path is that China and India will be gobbling up all the growth in coal, and nearly all the growth in oil. Will we fight to combat climate change or make stacks of cash selling coal to Asia?
READ MOREIn a global energy glut, what next for emissions?
Thanks to a boom in oil and gas from shale by around 2020, the United States is projected to become the largest global oil producer. That’s concerning for the environment.
READ MORELittle hope in Obama for climate action in this economy
After winning four more years, Barack Obama again represents hope for a global carbon pricing scheme. Just don’t count on it until the economy is much healthier.
READ MOREHow to take the heat out of electricity prices
With all the talk about power bills there is unique opportunity for reform. But if governments overreact it could make things worse
READ MOREDid climate change create the ‘Frankenstorm’? It didn’t help
Global warming may not have caused the Frankenstorm but it is loading the dice so the devastating flooding just witnessed becomes a lot more likely in future.
READ MOREHow heavy industry actually profits from the RET
The government’s sweetener offsets to ease the pain the renewable energy target for energy-intensive industries may actually overshoot the predicted rise in electricity costs.
READ MOREEmissions trading hangs by a chad in Obama’s fight
The environmental future isn’t a major debate topic during US presidential elections. But perhaps it should be.
READ MOREGenerators gamed in the power price fight
Incumbent power suppliers have so much at stake with electricity regulation they can buy more and better muscle to define the house rules. They tend to ultimately prevail.
READ MOREWhy power generators suddenly care about consumers
The dominant incumbent power generators (with the exception of AGL) are all gunning for the Renewable Energy Target to be slashed.
READ MOREHow crippling the RET could cost you
Slashing the RET could actually increase overall costs to consumers. And it appears TRUenergy — which is now pushing for RET dilution — agreed just a few months ago.
READ MORELabor called generators’ bluff, so how hollow is its policy?
Contracts for closure dealt with a (empty) threat by coal generators that the lights would go out. Now questions need to be asked whether Labor’s policy is empty.
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