Climate diplomacy won’t solve the problem …
Since we posted the first article in the series of “It’s our own fault” in November 2022 a recent release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown electricity prices have risen 12.8 percent over the past year.
One of the reasons for the rise has been, the federal rebates for electricity have ended and prices are now up 36 percent since we last published Part One of a series relating to the future of energy in Australia.
Back in 2022 Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen told an energy conference of the investments required to deliver on the emissions reductions he has pledged to the UN. The minister said we would need to install 40 massive wind turbines each month until 2030 – more than a wind turbine a day for eight years!
In terms of solar we still need to install 20,000 500-watt panels every day andenough 2.4m x 1.2m solar panels to stretch, end to end, more than 52km, every day!
In Part 4 of our discussion on nuclear, we outlined the problems the nation was going to face in the future, in the development of renewable energy progressing to a stage where it may eventually replace fossil fuels.
Over this period, we have seen the development of home storage batteries and their uptake encouraged, the departure of renewable energy corporations vying for locations to establish their technology and the reluctance of landowners and farmers to host wind and solar installations on their properties.
In the part 5 update of this series, Jennie George a former ACTU President and former Labor member for Throsby, wrote an interesting article in the Australian Newspaper on September 26-28, 2025, titled ‘Bowens renewables fail’s the reliability test,’ in which she highlighted some facts the nation faces including de- industrialisation due to high energy costs, while others nations embrace nuclear power.
Chris Uhlman of the Australian Newspaper wrote recently; Snowy is merely the biggest blowout in a crowded field across the eastern grid, other major projects have added millions to their estimated costs. The cost blowout of the Snowy Hydro project has come in for examination with the project too far advanced to terminate and too costly to continue.
The billions spent and misspent in pursuit of Labor’s plans remain shrouded in secrecy. It’s in breach of the public’s right to know. All the renewable projects are underwritten by taxpayers off budget in secret contracts that leave only the Australian National Audit Office to protect the public interest.
As Jennie George proclaimed ‘It’s never too late to put our nations interest at centre stage. Energy is the economy and energy security is national security. Only a strong economy can ensure out future prosperity. It’s time to lift the nuclear ban and to test the market’.
We are now faced with the next UN conference regarding climate change in Turkey where we can see the rank hypocrisy of nations claiming they are committed to the reduction of fossil fuels. These nations include the hosts of COP31, Turkey.
There are 77 provisional speakers at this year’s summit but in recent years there has been a significant fall off from 198 leaders who signed up over a decade ago in Paris. The trajectory of leader level COP- outs signals that energy security and price now dominate everything.
Measured against these countries stated goals, the trajectory of fossil fuel consumption is more damming. Since the first COP in Berlin 30 years ago, coal production has risen roughly 80 percent, oil by 40 percent and gas has doubled. All three reached new heights in 2025, as did carbon emissions.
It will be interesting to see what the outcome of talks deliver, in terms of global warming and the efforts to be made in its reduction. This is now fully in view of the fact, that the world is awash with new hydrocarbon plays. China and India are expanding coalmining, Guyana, Brazil and Argentina are ramping up oil production. Uganda is developing new oilfields; Norway is opening more North Sea territory to drilling. Some of the highlights for COP should include the Canadians backing more oil production to push their emissions higher than expected.
South Korea and Japan eased restrictions on coal-fired power to conserve gas during the Middle East crisis. Environmental group Urgewald stated that 257 new coal projects were announced in 2025.
In Britain with energy costs crippling households and business after years of bipartisan net-zero folly, the Labour government signed off on Jackdaw a new North Sea development capable of supplying around 6 percent of gas production at its peak, amid accusations from members of its own party calling it a betrayal of Labour’s climate commitments.
In Australia Energy Minister Bowen who has recently been elected as the President of COP31, made us believe in the lead up to the pre- COP event in Fiji, that Australia’s commitment would be about $20m. Senate estimates revealed $34.6m in contracted commitments!
Perhaps millions seem trifling when the blowouts on your watch are routinely measured in billions, Snowy 2.0 being an example.
So where does this leave us, Queensland’s Premier recently said fuel security meant drilling, refining, and storing fuel locally. The Northern Territory was backing the gas behemoth of the Beetaloo Basin, South Australia and New South Wales and Victoria are now in the hunt for more gas.
This year NSW has approved coalmining operations at the Hunter Valley until 2045 and Queensland has approved extensions unlocking a further 288 million tons of coal. In Part 4 of this series, we were alerted to the problems facing WA’s energy security.
It appears we are facing another talkfest at COP31 with the problems in the Middle East high on the agenda. How long the problems in that region will exist, is anyone’s guess. What concerns us is the lack of discussion regarding the use of nuclear technology for future energy needs.
In Australia, time has passed quickly since our first post in 2022, regarding the answer to a problem that is now threatening the planet.
Maybe one day it will dawn on our elected government that the electorate is not populated by mugs. Credibility is not a renewable resource.
This post is proudly sponsored by Liz & John’s Seven Day Pet Grooming Service. wattoonjohn@outlook.com
