• Greens support of 43% target hides a cunning plan
  • FHE begins trading on OCT market to attract North American investors
  • ADX looks to raise more than A$2m for drilling and renewable energy investment 

 

Despite its previous threats to scuttle Labor’s climate change bill for not reaching far enough, the Greens have now committed to backing legislation to enshrine a 43% emissions reduction target through both the House and Senate – a move that ensures it will become law.

Greens leader Adam Brandt told the National Press Club that while the target still wasn’t as high as the party wanted (75%), it would back the legislation as amendments had ensured that the 43% figure was the “floor, not a ceiling”.

Nonetheless, Brandt believes the Albanese Government would not be able to meet even this target due to its decision to leave the door open for more coal and gas developments, House and Senate.

“The Senate inquiry here will be critical as we expect that the Senate inquiry will show that the government cannot meet even the weak targets in this legislation if it opens new coal and gas projects and that the government will need to rethink its approach,” Bandt noted.

“The Beetaloo gas project alone could lift Australia’s pollution by up to 13%.

“If all the coal, oil and gas projects on the books go ahead, Australia’s pollution could rise by as much as a third from where it is now.”

He added that the Greens will now push to amend the safeguard mechanism, which penalises big polluting companies that go over a set carbon emissions ceiling.

 

 

PM welcomes decision, calls on Coalition to ‘break with their rhetoric’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the decision and called on the Coalition to “break with their rhetoric” and listen to the business community who were calling for investment certainty before investing in clean and cheap renewable energy.

“This is an opportunity for the whole of the parliament to be on the right side of history, to put aside the conflict and the arguments that came around with 22 different energy policies – not one of them implemented – and give support to the government’s mandate that we received in May, for the one policy that we took to the election, the one policy that we will implement,” The Guardian quoted him as saying during a press conference.

It comes as Opposition leader Peter Dutton dismissed the 43% target as a stunt, saying that nuclear energy needed to be a serious option for reducing emissions while flagging that a new Liberal policy with a more aggressive reduction emissions plan will be introduced before the next election.

However, Albanese challenged the Coalition’s commitment to nuclear energy, saying “If you want to see how fast Coalition members can run, go into a Coalition party room, and ask them who wants a nuclear power station in their electorate.”

 

To ASX renewable energy news

FRONTIER ENERGY (ASX:FHE)

Clean energy company FHE has begun trading on the OTCQX market in the United States under the ticker code FRHYF.

In a bid to enhance visibility and accessibility to North America– the world’s largest pool of investors, FHE executive chairman Grant Davey says OTC is the simplest way for both the company and these investors to buy shares in their own time zone.

“With a number of key studies nearing completion at a time when the world needs renewable energy solutions more than ever before, this is promising to be an exciting year for the company.”

The OTC is an established trading platform, operated by OTC Markets Group in New York, providing live market trading in companies which hold primary listings in other markets.

 

ADX Energy (ASX:ADX)

Oil and gas explorer ADX is looking to raise A$2.55m towards drilling across its Austrian projects as well as on renewable energy investment such as ongoing feasibility work related to the Vienna Basin green hydrogen production and storage project.

Along with highly reputed and experienced hydrogen experts, Horváth & Partners, ADX is evaluating the deployment of reservoirs at the Gaiselberg and Zistersdorf producing fields in the Vienna Basin (otherwise known as ADX Fields) for green hydrogen (H2) storage.

The two companies believe these fields are ‘very suitable’ for green hydrogen storage due to their proximity to major renewable electricity sources – which could be used for electrolysis to produce green hydrogen, the availability of high-quality reservoirs at suitable depth as well as excellent gas export infrastructure for the export of green hydrogen.

Discussions are underway with renewable energy producers with a view to form a strategic partnership to begin a pilot project.