Letter

In response to Australia needs green energy statecraft

There is no climate transition

Elizabeth Thurbon’s excellent article Australia needs green energy statecraft identifies great potential for Australia as the world transitions to a clean energy future. I wonder if the Australian government has the required vision to achieve this?

A bigger problem from a climate change perspective is that there is no energy transition. Consider all the datacentres being powered by gas, and the government’s future gas strategy. If we follow the money, a “Banking on Climate Chaos” report, published in June this year, reported that the world’s largest banks pledged $906 billion to fossil fuel companies in 2025, an increase of $64 billion from 2024.

Without a fossil fuel phase out we won’t be enjoying the benefits of a clean energy future, we will be fully occupied with trying to overcome the disastrous consequences of unmitigated climate change.

— Ken Russell from Redcliffe, Qld