The Australian Renewables Report 2021 reveals that nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents will increase their investments in clean energy over the next 24 months, with 50% of respondents reporting the pandemic has not affected their investment decisions or strategies.
To understand why investors are so confident about Australia's renewables sector and why the sector is ripe for investment, read our report.
Net Zero Asset Managers initiative triples in assets under management as 43 new asset managers commit to net zero emissions goal
43 new investor signatories to Net Zero Asset Managers initiative will work in collaboration with clients to achieve 2030 emissions reduction targets and reach net zero by 2050 or sooner.
The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative now has a total 73 signatories representing $US32 trillion in assets under management (AUM), 36 per cent of the global total.
Net Zero Asset Managers initiative is now accredited by the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign.
Asset managers representing over $US22.8 trillion of assets under management (AUM) today announced that they are new signatories to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Following the launch of the initiative in December 2020, 43 additional asset managers are making new, enhanced commitments to support the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.
The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative now has a total 73 global asset manager signatories, representing $US32 trillion in assets under management, representing more than a third (36 per cent) of the total assets under management across the globe. The breadth of signatories signals the determination of investors to play their part in achieving a net zero and resilient future and the global significance of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.
The research, commissioned by the Australia Institute thinktank and released on Monday, found clean technologies provided the fast frequency response service and voltage control needed to secure the energy grid and reduce cost. But the report says regulatory barriers currently limit the ability of renewable energy and batteries to provide system security.
Alan Pears, AM, is one of Australia’s best-regarded sustainability experts.
He is a senior industry fellow at RMIT University, advises a number of industry and community organisations and works as a consultant. He writes a column in each issue of Renew magazine: you can buy an e-book of Alan’s columns from 1997 to 2016 at shop.renew.org.au.
In this issue: Alan Pears on mitigating adverse effects of going off gas, why energy companies don’t understand consumers, and communicating energy efficiency more... efficiently!
Fundamentally, people and businesses don’t want energy—or technology. What they want is services that offer them value—and that value is a matter of perception.
One of the leading figures in European climate policy, Peter Vis, just last month fretted that the European Union might be rushing too fast towards the sort of border carbon tax it voted for this week.
Such a tax might put “the EU in the role of judging the adequacy of other countries’ [climate policies], which is awkward”, Vis, who helped oversee the creation of the EU emissions trading system, told the UK climate journal, The ENDS Report.
“Today, I am calling on all governments, private companies and local authorities to take three steps. First, cancel all global coal projects in the pipeline and end the deadly addiction to coal. I urge all OECD countries to commit to phasing out coal by 2030, and for non-OECD countries to do so by 2040,” Mr Guterres told a conference of the Powering Past Coal diplomatic grouping on Tuesday.
The new federal administration has arrived in Washington with ambitious plans to address the climate crisis—and in so doing, revitalize the US economy and reclaim a leadership position on the international stage. During their campaign, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted “the opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable economy—one that will put the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide by no later than 2050 […] and, in the process, create millions of good-paying jobs.”
To meet this demand, new firms have emerged offering to analyze “financial climate risk.” The idea is to show where climate-related hazards might hurt a company’s bottom line, or a fund’s returns, often using exact coordinates to pinpoint which assets are exposed. Sometimes, these companies use the climate models that academics have spent years developing to understand how we are heating our planet.
We know the minister responsible for emissions reduction, Angus Taylor, is “dead against” them. The trade minister, Dan Tehan, is concerned they may be a “new form of protectionism”.
But some experts say it is a matter of when, not if, they are introduced – and the Australian government and business community should be prepared.
The coal-fired power generation industry is on the brink of collapse.
Although coal generation must end eventually if we’re to have zero carbon emissions by 2050, the transition to renewables is happening a lot faster than expected, and neither the national grid nor the coal industry is ready for it.
The main reason the industry and government have been caught out is clear: The lack of clear policy leadership from Canberra has led to confusion, under-investment and complacency.
The new special report, The World’s Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050, will set out in detail what is needed from governments, companies, investors and citizens to fully decarbonise the energy sector and put emissions on a path in line with a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. It is part of a series of new IEA projects to support efforts to reach global energy and climate goals.
The Atlantic Ocean circulation that underpins the Gulf Stream, the weather system that brings warm and mild weather to Europe, is at its weakest in more than a millennium, and climate breakdown is the probable cause, according to new data.
Further weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could result in more storms battering the UK, more intense winters and an increase in damaging heatwaves and droughts across Europe.
Scientists predict that the AMOC will weaken further if global heating continues, and could reduce by about 34% to 45% by the end of this century, which could bring us close to a “tipping point” at which the system could become irrevocably unstable. A weakened Gulf Stream would also raise sea levels on the Atlantic coast of the US, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Singapore — Saudi Arabia's decision to cut its crude oil prices sharply over the weekend has added pressure on other Middle East producers to follow suit or risk losing market share, setting the stage for a price war in the region, market participants said Monday.
Saudi Arabia, over the weekend, announced deep cuts in the price of its oil for customers globally after falling out with Russia on further production cuts to support prices. The price cuts were deepest for Europe -- a move that's widely seen as a direct challenge to Russia -- one of the region's biggest oil supplier.
