1. AUSTRALIA TO SIGN AGREEMENT TO END PUBLIC SUBSIDIES TO INTERNATIONAL FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS!
  • Australia is expected to sign an international agreement between a group of western countries to end public money subsidies for international oil, gas and coal projects:   A major and significant step to phasing out o0f fossil fuels! 
  • The signing is part of the United Nations international agreements on climate change action!
  • The way forward for Australia in this Clean Energy Transition Partnership Agreement was created last week in Federal parliament when the Labor government and the Greens agreed on a deal to pass the legislation to create the Future Made in Australia - a suite of policies to rebuild Australia's base towards a zero-carbon economy.
  • These new laws include a commitment to ending public finance for new fossil fuel projects.
  • The legislation will stop  Australian government's export credit agency, Export Finance Australia (EFA), from investing any public money in new fossil fuel projects that are 'wholly outside Australia'. 
  • This is a very significant step -   SINCE 2009- it is ESTIMATED EFA INVESTED A$2 billion + mainly GAS export infrastructure -  but none since Labor elected. 
  • Unfortunately that means that public funds can still continue to fund domestic Australian fossil fuel projects that have an EXPORT component!!!- ( like the big international gas exporting companies - Woodside, Exxon Mobil and Santos!)
  •  NEVERTHELESS it is an important and significant step to cutting off 'a key source of finance for fossil fuel companies'. As banks, superannuation funds and other financial institutions have reduced private funding in fossil fuel projects it is the export credit agencies, like Australia's Export Finance Australia, that have provided funds to prop up major new fossil-fuel-developments.  'There is a lot of evidence to suggest there are a lot of big fossil fuel projects that are only commercially viable because they have been funded by these credit export agencies' 

  • Countries already signatories to the agreement are, UK,Canada, NZ, France,Finland, Begium, and Sweden. The result of this withdrawal of funds resulted in USD$ 5.2 billion less for financing fossil-fuel projects. 

    (by David Smith, for 'Electrifying Bradfield Inc. Based on Kurmelovs.R. "Huge Win' on Climate", The Saturday Paper, December 14-20, 2024, p.10)

     

    2.     CSIRO REPORT DEMONSTRATES THE SHAM OF NUCLEAR FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY FOR AUSTRALIA!

    * Last Monday the case against any move to fossil nuclear power in Australia was reinforced soundly once again!

    * The came with the annual Gen Cost report bhy Australia's premier scientific agency the CSIRO - in collaboration with Australia's Energy Managing Organization (AEMO) and energy industry stakeholders.

    * The report came to the overwhelming conclusion, AS IT HAS FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS -  based on all the current scientific and economic information, that the cost of creating renewable energy is vastly less than the pipedream of fossil-fuel nuclear!: renewables 'have the lowest-cost range of any new-build electricity generation technology'!!

    * Costings per megawatt hour  - solar and wind  A$ 98.00- $150.00 : Gas - $128.00-= $192.00 [NOT INCLUDING CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE]; Large scale nuclear - $125.00- $252.00 : Small- scale modular - which are not available commercially anywhere yet - estimated $400.-- $663.00!

    *AND THOSE COSTS DON"T INCLUDE THE MEDICAL COSTS OR ENVIROMENTAL OR SAFETY/SECURITY COSTS OR COSTS OF DISPOSAL OF NUCLEAR WASTE !!    

     More important, as the Gen Cost Report points out yet again!  -  prices of renewables and photovoltaics (solar energy panels and storage batteries) are falling rapidly - capital cost solar % : batteries- largest drop in cost - 20%: while uranium costs periodically rising!

    * Further, the Report estimates 'any planning, permitting, supplying and installation', if any available, of modularr nuclear is '12-17  years away.'  'All of Australi's geriatric coal generators are scheduled for closure by 2038 - 14 years away??   SO -

    * Again the question is raised - is the fantasy move to nuclear simply a ploy to continue supporting  new environmentally destructive, expensive and  polluting fossil-gas projects [see massive public money subsidies A$ billions! to Woodside, Santos, Exxon Mobil) 

    WHICH WOULD BE NECESSARY for any transition to any modular nuclear - and maybe a strategy to slow funding for cheap, reliable, efficient, non-emissions producing renewables of solar and wind  

    (David Smith for 'Electrifying Bradfield Inc.' from an article by Secombe. M. (2024) 'Coalition sets Price on nuclear costings', 'The Saturday Paper', 14-20th December, p.12.)

     

    3. NO NEED FOR NEW TREE PLANTING 'GREENWASHING' SHAM BY FOSSIL FUEL EMISSION PRODUCERS!

    * CHECK OUT  the amazing programme  'FORESTS' SCREENED ON ABC TELEVISION ON Monday 16th December 2024!

    * 5 Years of research by hundreds of international ecologists demonstrates conclusively there is no need to be planting millions of new trees - further it is pointless to do so as a strategy against climate change!

    * WHY?
    * BECAUSE preserving the existing old growth forests we have in the world is a much better strategy for carbon capture!

    * IF we preserve the existing old growth forests it is their trees, soils, and ecosystems of animals, microbacteria,  plants and insectthat are the most effective, successful and completely natural capturers of carbon! - and they have been doing it for millions of years!

    * Ecologists have counted and estimated that there are more than a TRILLION trees in old- growth forests.

    *FURTHER these trees and their ecosystems have captured more than 226 billion tonnes of Carbon Dioxide:  1/5th of all the Carbon Dioxide emissions produced by humans since the Industrial Revolution!

    * FINAL CONCLUSIONS FROM 5 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH:

            1.  OLD GROWTH TREES (200 + YEARS OLD) HAVE CAPTURED AND WILL CONTINUE TO MORE CARBON

    THAN ANY NEW SAPLINGS/TREES -  as any idiot with half a brain looking at the size of any tree could work out: 

    *IT IS A SHAME THAT THERE ARE MANY IDIOTS IN THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR POLICY AND ACTION TO REMOVING OLD- GROWTH FORESTS in Australia!

            2. THAT AS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS CLEARING OLD GROWTH FORESTS WHERE LESS BIGGER TREES GROW FURTHER APART THAN 'NEW TREE SAPLING/YOUNG FORESTS MAKES FOREST FAR MORE LIKELY TO BURN ('Black Saturday Victoria) and less crown fires!

            3 RETAINING AND PRESERVING OLD-GROWTH FORESTS CAPTURES MORE CARBON, REDUCES BUSHFIRES DAMAGE AND COST AND STOPS FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES  TO STOP PRODUCING EMISSIONS THROUGH THE  'GREENWASHING' BY SHAM CARBON CERTIFICATES!

    *WATCH the program  'THE FORESTS' ON ABC iView - and watch in real time Fungi capturing carbon underground and distributing it to tree canopies to release oxygen!!

    9By David Smith for 'Elctrifying Bradfield Inc.')