Frank Jotzo, Australian National University; Llewelyn Hughes, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, and Rebecca Colvin, Australian National University
The Net Zero Economy Authority will have a broad remit to support the net zero transition. Here are some pointers on how it could go about it, based on an assessment of best practice
Without a green energy transition Australia won’t meet its emissions reductions promises. But despite punching above its weight for years, the electricity sector isn’t transforming quickly enough.
Workers tunnelling through mountains and redirecting rivers, powering and irrigating the nation. We think of the Snowy scheme as a successful nationbuilding project – but it wasn’t always that way
Yes we need land for solar panels, wind farms, batteries, pumped hydro, transmission lines and so on. But the amount of land is surprisingly small, when you do the sums. Here’s why.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ruled that it won’t approve energy projects on Native lands without tribal consent. But many more applications are pending.
Small modular reactors are popular among conservative politicians and supposedly the Australian public. But they’re nowhere near ready to power Australia in time to replace coal-powered stations.
There are two approaches to producing low-emission hydrogen, and public acceptance (or rejection) of each method will be important for hydrogen and its place in the energy transition.
Hard rock minerals like gold, silver, copper and lithium on public lands belong to the American public, but under a 150-year-old law, the US gives them away for free.