Climate & Energy Program

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s unprecedented $443.3 million dollar Government grant is being invested with banks that fund the expansion of the fossil fuel industry, contrary to the Foundation’s stated goals.

A new report released today from The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy program and Future Super shows the Foundation’s grant, which was paid upfront and in full, is split between six banks. A majority of the grant is being invested with Australia’s Big Four Banks (Commonwealth, NAB, ANZ and Westpac), who have loaned $70 billion to fossil fuel projects since 2008.

by Ben Oquist, Executive Director of The Australia Institute.

[This article originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review 28.08.18]

Scott Morrison is set to make the same mistake as the Business Council of Australia on energy and climate policy. Equating emission reductions with higher prices gets the politics and economics wrong.

The Australia Institute has released new analysis by Chief Economist Dr. Richard Denniss showing that the purported $150 price reduction likely to flow from the NEG will be rendered meaningless if the government proceeds with new policies to adjust future electricity supply via the so-called ‘NEG plus’.

“The NEG modelling concludes power prices will be lower largely because 'certainty' would see interest rates 3% lower for electricity sector investors,” said Dr. Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute.

Welcome to the August 2018 issue of the National Energy Emissions Audit Electricity Update, with data updated to the end of July 2018.  This Electricity Update is the companion publication to the quarterly National Energy Emissions Audit Report, the next issue which will be in September 2018.  The Electricity Update presents data on electricity demand, electricity supply, and electricity generation emissions in the National Electricity Market (NEM).