Climate, foreign affairs and policy wonk.
Focused on delivering systemic shifts on climate via research, political strategy and policy advisory.
Child wrangler
MD Springmount Advisory
Research Fellow - Centre for New Industry
Founding CEO Future Business Council
Fmr Head of Policy & Research Beyond Zero Emissions
Australia's absence from this list of critical mineral processing powerhouses is notable given our huge deposits and exports of the raw ores, especially lithium.
Meanwhile, Indonesia now capitalising on nickel processing following their raw export ban in 2020.
This has not got enough coverage but Victoria has just announced an absolutely HUGE investment in skills and training.
A game changing investment to develop the clean energy and electrification skills we desperately need.
Includes:
- $50m TAFE Clean Energy Fund,
- $116m to build six new Tech Schools,
- $16m for two new clean energy worker training centres,
- $12m SEC Centre of Training Excellence
- $19m for clean energy work experience
- $7.5m to establish a clean energy VCE Vocational Major
https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/training-next-generation-sec-workers
Especially critical as there's no transition without trades, and right now the entire country is experiencing shortages of electricians, lines workers, plumbers etc. See National Skills priority shortages
This funding supports the development of exactly the skills sets we need to achieve zero emissions.
If you squint, you can just see the sliver of gas forecast in the future energy grid. I doubt it will even be that big.
There's virtually no role for gas in our energy system.
Solar, wind and storage are the transition fuel. No need for fossil gas.
Electric heating is efficient heating.
The simplest, most immediate action we can take in Australia is to use our split systems for heating during the winter and turn off the gas.
Data from the Victorian Healthy Homes research report.
The Victorian Healthy Homes Program was a randomised controlled trial designed to measure the impact of an energy efficiency and thermal comfort home upgrade on temperature, energy use, health and quality of life.
Excellent to see $.4.3 billion was invested in renewable energy last quarter in Australia! Worth celebrating!
But also worth keeping in mind that just as much was invested in coal and gas during the same quarter (graph from the latest Resources and Energy Quarterly report)
We still need to turn the ship around.
This mornings dawn service on Ballarat for Survival Day was very moving.
Confronting but important to learn more of our true history, including this incident which occurred just up the road.
https://barrygoanna.com/2021/07/20/the-bloodhole-massacre-glengower/
Saw this lovely little white lipped snake in Creswick, VIC. Only about 15cm in length.
