Coal industry urges re-elected Morrison government to build new coal plants

The coal industry has begun lobbying the re-elected Morrison government to support hardline positions, including building new coal-fired power stations and weakening approvals processes for new mines.

Australia’s coal industry is lobbying the Coalition to
build new coal-fired power stations and weaken
approvals processes for new mines.

The Coal Council of Australia released a statement on Sunday welcoming the election result, praising the Coalition for supporting coal, and calling on Labor to reverse many of its climate-focused policies towards the fossil fuel.

“While elections are about an array of issues, it is important to note in coal-related electorates in both NSW and Queensland, Labor members and candidates recorded strong swings against them,” the CCA chief executive, Greg Evans, said.

In the three electorates home to most of Australia’s large coalmines – Dawson and Capricornia in Queensland and Hunter in NSW – voters delivered double-digit swings to the government.

Read the story from The Guardian by Ben Smee - “Coal industry urges re-elected Morrison government to build new coal plants.”

Electric cars are OK, but public transport is better

Electric vehicles (EVs) are not the silver bullet transformation for our transport industry, but the momentum for change is building, and EVs might be part of the change.

Electric cars can help ease pollution if the
 electricity is produced by renewables.

By simply championing a technical switch to EVs we will miss the greater opportunity of this problem. Focusing too strongly on EVs will lock in existing problems around congestion, health and the liveability of our cities.

Read the story from The Age by Rachel Lynskey - “Electric cars are OK, but public transport is better.”

EV fast-charing network to roll out in Australia after funding boost

A high-powered, industry-based effort to bring Australia up to speed on electric vehicles, by building its first nationally coordinated EV fast-charging network, is set to be realised, after receiving a major funding boost this week.

Tritium’s 350kW high power chargers, branded
for roll-out in the European Ionity network.

The plan to build the national electric vehicle highway is being led by Fast Cities Australia, a sister company to Brisbane fast charger maker Tritium, and closely connected to the deep pockets of Rich Lister and energy entrepreneur Trevor St Baker.

Fast Cities said on Friday that it had secured a $7 million investment from St Baker’s Energy Innovation Fund – allowing work to begin on the project, which it believes will give Australian EV drivers, fleet owners and manufacturers the confidence to go electric.

Read the RenewEconomy story by Sophie Vorrath - “EV fast-charing network to roll out in Australia after funding boost.”

The quiet e-bike revolution

It seems every day we are seeing a new highlight in the Electric Vehicle space. Whether it is a new model or another City with a plan to phase out fossil fuelled vehicles, there is no doubt the momentum for EVs and autonomous vehicles is building.

The e-bike revolution.

However, in the background a quiet revolution has been taking place. The fastest growing segment in the transport world now is e-bikes, or electric bicycles.

As with many things, China is the biggest market with an estimated 30 million sold in 2016, compared to the rest of the world selling around 4 million, according to Navagant Research.

In 2017 e-bike sales in much of the EU had double digit growth with the standout, Italy by 50%. Germany had 19% growth for a total of 720,000 sales.

It appears e-bikes are popular across demographic groups with the younger generation possibly eschewing driving or car ownership in favour of an e-bike.

Read the RenewEconomy story by Rod Munro - “The quiet e-bike revolution.”

Coal doesn’t help the poor; it makes them poorer

A dozen international poverty and development organizations published a report last week on the impact of building new coal power plants in countries where a large percentage of the population lacks access to electricity. The report’s conclusions are strikingly counter-intuitive: on the whole, building coal power plants does little to help the poor, and often it can actually make them poorer.

The coal-fired Castle Gate Power Plant is pictured outside Helper, Utah.

Delivering electricity to those in energy poverty is certainly important. For example, household air pollution killed 4.3 million people globally in 2012; many of those lives could be saved and health improved with the use of electric stoves to replace burning wood or charcoal. However, the question remains whether coal is the best way to deliver that electricity.

Read The Guardian story by Dana Nuccitelli story - “Coal doesn’t help the poor; it makes them poorer.”

Everyday heroes compelled to break the law when government fails to protect us

What does it say about the state of our democracy when it falls upon everyday people to stop a billionaire building the largest coal mine in the southern hemisphere?

The Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland.

And what does it say about our politicians that they will let Adani’s mine proceed when the vast majority of Australians don’t want it, and scientists are urging us to keep coal in the ground to avoid more dangerous climate change?

This month, nine people - many of them first-time offenders - were collectively fined more than $70,000 for their efforts in January to keep Adani’s coal in the ground.

Read Julian Burnside’s story from The Sydney Morning Herald - “Everyday heroes compelled to break the law when government fails to protect us.”

New study reaches a stunning conclusion about the cost of solar and wind energy

In one of the fastest and most astonishing turnarounds in the history of energy, building and running new renewable energy is now cheaper than just running existing coal and nuclear plants in many areas.

Stunning report - wind and solar now cheaper
than existing coal and nuclear plants.

A widely-used yearly benchmarking study — the Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis (LCOE) from the financial firm Lazard Ltd. — reached this stunning conclusion: In many regions “the full-lifecycle costs of building and operating renewables-based projects have dropped below the operating costs alone of conventional generation technologies such as coal or nuclear.”

Read Joe Romm’s on ThinkProgress  story  - “New study reaches a stunning conclusion about the cost of solar and wind energy.”

UK inventor James Dyson to launch electric car by 2020

James Dyson, the billionaire inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner and bladeless fan, is building an electric car that will launch by 2020, the latest firm to challenge traditional carmakers in a burgeoning market.

Billionaire inventor James Dyson said he finally
had the opportunity to bring all his company's
 technologies together into a single product.  

Tesla has already shaken up the sector around the world and Dyson said it would now spend $3.4 billion on solid-state battery technology and vehicle design.

The announcement could stoke debate in Australia over the subsidisation and slow adoption of electric cars. Australian drivers lag behind developed markets in their transition to green vehicles.

On a rare visit to Australia in June, Renault Nissan Alliance chairman Carlos Ghson told Fairfax Media that electric cars will not be a success in Australia until governments are willing to subsidise their use.

Read the story in today’s Melbourne Age by Paul Sandle - “UK inventor James Dyson to launch electric car by 2020.”

Can property survive the great climate transition?

As we become an increasingly urban species, urban resilience is emerging as a big deal. The idea is generating a lot of noise about how to develop or retrofit cities that can deal with the many challenges before us, or consume less energy in the transition to post-carbon economies.

Property is under threat, physically and conceptually, from climate change. 

There is ample activity aimed at making this happen, including through designing and building ecocities, and calls such as that of the Transition Towns movement, which suggests substantial changes to our ways of life might be both necessary and inevitable.

In all of this, very little has been said about the elephant in the urban living room – property. Property systems are the codification of our relationship to place and the way in which many of us make a claim to place, including a roof over our heads.

If our cities are to become more resilient and sustainable, our systems of property need to come along for the ride.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Culture and Society at the Western Sydney University, Louise Crabtree - “Can property survive the great climate transition?”