IN BRIEF: Was it the $2 billion of mooted costs? Was it Australia’s go-slow on environmental reforms and what could shape up as the biggest wasted electoral majority of all time? We might never be able to unpick the real reason from the plethora of “media words” tumbling out on Thursday to explain why Australia lost the chance to host the next COP in favour of Türkiye.
Innes Willox, chief executive of the national employer association, Australian Industry Group said the failed bid is disappointing but that Australia will “still hold the pen on negotiations over the next year ahead of the 2026 COP”. Whatever that means. We hope a lot of course.
The AFR noted that: “since the federal election in May, the political resolve globally and domestically to tackle climate change has begun to wane in the face of high energy prices and the cost of living crisis. As it did, enthusiasm for COP within the cabinet began to fade.”
And of course the Coalition has dug the stiletto in deep by messaging that it was going entirely AWOL on strong climate action with its abandonment of the net zero target.
Though judging from the intense activity we could see at Circular Disruption there’s a slew of emerging and transitioning businesses invested in sustainability that are no longer listening to the politics – they’re getting on with the job.
Sorry for your loss Albo! And sorry for ours.
But it’s good news that Türkiye has now embraced the race to net zero and the transition, right?
What we are reading (and listening to)
Watch your language – How to get cut through in a messy political world
Kate Cotter, chief executive of the Resilient Building Council made no mention of sustainability in this interview with ABC Radio National on Thursday. She talks about buildings that last, are not flimsy and how they can protect us from fire or flood. Cotter is also getting traction with the insurance companies to acknowledge lower risk. Here’s a lesson in how to cut through the political noise and get the message to the people that matter.
Read our stories on Kate Cotter and the Resilient Building Council.
Reads: From The New York Times – China is the new green superpower. While the US withdraws from overt climate action and Europe struggles, emerging countries such as Brazil, India, and Vietnam are rapidly expanding solar and wind power. Poorer countries like Ethiopia and Nepal are leapfrogging over gasoline-burning cars to battery-powered ones. Nigeria, a petrostate, plans to build its first solar-panel manufacturing plant. Morocco is creating a battery hub to supply European automakers. Santiago, the capital of Chile, has electrified more than half of its bus fleet in recent years. How? China, which is shaping the development trajectory of some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Read this extraordinary report of a quite but powerful green revolution (paywalled).
From The AFR: In the wake of the huge enthusiasm for new low carbon materials evident at last week’s Circular Disruption Forum, news has emerged of how tough it is for green technology start-ups to attract financing from multibillion-dollar government investment. The Net Zero Economy Authority said the mandates of the government’s clean tech related specialist investment vehicles are not properly targeted at supporting net zero goals.
“The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the National Reconstruction Fund and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility – have been collectively allocated more than $50 billion by successive governments,” the newspaper points out. Read more (paywalled).