Australia’s new government squares up to energy and climate change challenges

[1]

The Labor Party’s victory in Australia’s May federal election finally gave it the chance, after years of criticising the policies of the previous government, to address chronic energy and climate change issues. Six months on, it has made considerable progress, with a climate law passed in September making Australia one of only 24 nations to keep the promise made at last year’s COP26 climate talks in Glasgow to ratchet up climate policy ambitions.

There now appears to be enough political will in Canberra to push for the infrastructure investments needed to enable Australia’s energy transition goals. At the same time, the new government still sees a key role for natural gas and, together with competition body ACCC, is keen on Australian LNG exporters diverting gas supplies to domestic markets to ease concerns over shortages in the country’s south-eastern states.