Australia

By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University | – Australians will bear yet another blow to our cost of living in July when electricity prices will surge up to 18.3%, which amounts to over A$250 per year in some cases. This is partly due to geopolitical tensions driving up the cost of generating electricity from […]

Australia

Australia’s “Greenslide” Shows the Political Dangers for Conservatives of Downplaying Climate Emergency

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had headed the conservative Liberal-National Coalition since 2018, has been turned out of office, and the climate emergency played a key role in his defeat. Morrison’s rival, victorious Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, proclaimed that Australia could become a “renewable energy superpower.” He […]

Australia

Biggest Solar-and-Battery Installation in World, at Darwin, Australia, to Power Singapore 3,000 miles Away

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Moving the world to renewable energy can’t be done purely on the basis of the nation-state. The challenge of the climate crisis requires cross-border cooperation among nations. Sun Cable‘s plans for an enormous 20 gigawatt (GW) solar farm outside Darwin, Australia, along with 42 GW of battery storage, which will […]

Australia

Could Australian Green Steel help Save the World from the Climate Emergency?

The Conversation

By John Pye, Australian National University; Alireza Rahbari, Australian National University; Emma Aisbett, Australian National University; Frank Jotzo, Australian National University; and Zsuzsanna Csereklyei, RMIT University | – Australia is the world’s number one exporter of both iron ore and metallurgical coal, the key ingredients of traditional steel making. Together, these materials make up a […]

Australia

Replaced by Mega-battery: Massive 3 GW Coal Plant in Australia forced to Close by Cheaper Wind and Solar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Australian firm Orion Energy in New South Wales is closing its massive, nearly 3 gigawatt Eraring coal plant eight years early. The largest coal plant in the country will be gone by 2025 instead of 2032. This development is good news for the earth, since coal is the single […]

Australasia

North America needs to invest in Green Energy in Indo-Pacific or Risk losing key Industry to China

The Conversation

By Jonas Goldman | – The Indo-Pacific region, which includes 24 nations and stretches from Australia to Japan and from India to the U.S. west coast, is home to both the largest concentration of humanity and the greatest source of global emissions. In 2020, the region produced 16.75 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the […]

Australia

Taking the World to the Brink: The Australia-UK-US Nuclear Sub Alliance against China

Tomdispatch

By David Vine | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Before it’s too late, we need to ask ourselves a crucial question: Do we really — I mean truly — want a new Cold War with China? Because that’s just where the Biden administration is clearly taking us. If you need proof, check out last month’s announcement […]

Australia

Is US-Australia Nuclear Sub Deal a Proliferation Danger, and does it Justify Iran’s Civilian Enrichment Program?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey at Politico raise a crucial question about the AUKUS alliance among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia that involves providing Australia with nuclear submarines. Is it a form of proliferation and does it provide justification for Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program? Nuclear submarines […]

Australia

Yes, Australia is buying a fleet of nuclear submarines. But the future of Electricity is Renewables, not Polluting Nuclear

The Conversation

By Ian Lowe | – The federal government on Thursday announced a landmark defence pact with the United States and United Kingdom that involves this nation acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The question of nuclear submarines in Australia has been bubbling along for some time – and with it, whether we should also develop a nuclear energy […]