Category Archives: Chris Bowen

Australia hoped hosting a Cop climate summit was a done deal. But one nation still stands in the way

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Despite a diplomatic push from Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese, Turkey won’t back down on its bid to host Cop31

Australia’s plan to host a major UN climate summit in 2026 has hit a Turkish roadblock. It is unclear how long it will last.

The Albanese government had expected that its bid to co-host the Cop31 summit in partnership with Pacific island nations – a Labor promise since before it won power in 2022 – would be agreed by now, as the UN climate talks in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku approach their final stages.

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Chris Bowen makes last-minute diplomatic stop in Turkey as Australia ramps up bid to host Cop31

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Climate change minister’s effort to convince Ankara to drop out underlines push for ‘Pacific Cop’

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, made a whistle-stop visit to Turkey on Friday night in an attempt to reach a deal for Australia to host tens of thousands of people at a major UN climate summit in 2026.

Bowen visited the Turkish capital, Ankara, on the way to the Cop29 climate conference in the Azerbaijan capital, Baku. The two countries are vying to host Cop31, and the Albanese government hopes Turkey will exit the race in time for an announcement before next week.

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Labor pumps $160m into Westpac fund offering lower-interest loans for household energy upgrades

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But the loans are only available to those who already have or are approved for a Westpac home or investment loan of at least $150,000

The Albanese government has pumped $160m into a major bank fund that offers discounted loans to pay for energy efficient upgrades to homes.

The investment was announced on Sunday as part of the household energy upgrades fund in last year’s federal budget.

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Australia politics live: Julian Assange leaves Belmarsh prison after plea deal and will return to Australia, WikiLeaks says

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WikiLeaks X account has tweeted that ‘Julian Assange is free’. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘It’s just a lazy delay’

Bill Shorten says a further delay of the Senate vote on the NDIS bill won’t actually lead to any changes:

There’s no good reason on God’s green earth to have another eight weeks of review, which isn’t actually eight weeks.

There won’t be a whole lot of new submissions come in, there won’t be some brand new arguments not considered.

I’m horrified after 12 months of reviewing the NDIS and then another six months of discussing the review including [in] the last three a Senate committee having public hearings calling for submissions.

The opposition has used words never ever said before by them.

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Peter Dutton accused of trying to ‘rip up’ Australia’s commitment to Paris climate agreement

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Opposition leader reportedly told News Corp he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election

Peter Dutton has been accused of planning to break Australia’s commitment to the landmark Paris climate agreement after he said he would reject the country’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target.

The opposition leader reportedly told the Weekend Australian that he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election but remain committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

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Labor unveils watered-down fuel efficiency standard that eases emission rules for large SUVs

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Bill to be introduced to parliament this week will incentivise carmakers to import cleaner vehicles

The Albanese government has watered down flagship new laws aimed at disincentivising the use of high-polluting cars and hastening the importation of cleaner vehicles amid pressure from the auto industry.

On Tuesday the transport minister, Catherine King, and the energy minister, Chris Bowen, revealed the details of compromise bill to be introduced to parliament this week, with the changes largely easing rules for popular large SUVs.

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Fuel efficiency standards: Labor unveils proposal, highlighting petrol savings of $1,000 a year for motorists

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Coalition-led scare campaign predicted for plan to place yearly cap on emissions for new cars sold in Australia

The Albanese government has unveiled its long-awaited plan for fuel efficiency standards for new cars while highlighting potential savings of $1,000 a year and predicting a Coalition-led scare campaign.

The proposed model, announced on Sunday, would place a yearly cap on the emissions output for new cars sold in Australia to incentivise carmakers to supply low- and zero-emissions vehicles and penalise companies that do not.

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Albanese government secures further gas supply before meeting on cost-of-living relief

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Deal aimed at keeping energy bills affordable will see 260 petajoules supplied to gas-fired power stations in Australia’s south-east coast until 2033

Australia’s south-east coast will be further guaranteed gas supply in an effort to keep lights on and energy bills affordable before predicted supply shortages at the decade’s end.

It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has called Labor MPs and senators to Canberra on Wednesday for a snap caucus to discuss further cost-of-living relief measures put forward by Treasury.

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Sales of electric vehicles surge as fast-charging sites double across Australia in a year

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EVs made up just 2% of new car sales in May 2022, but now 8.3% of new car sales in 2023 are battery powered

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has welcomed a boom in electric vehicle sales, revealing the number of fast-charging sites has nearly doubled in the last year.

National strategies on electric vehicles are expected to more than double the number of charger stations again within three years, as the federal government seeks to incentivise the use of cleaner cars. New fuel efficiency standards, expected to be outlined in early 2024, are likely to further discourage the sale of higher-emitting vehicles, making electric cars more attractive.

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Qantas calls cash compensation for delayed flights a ‘backwards step’ – as it happened

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Jimmy Barnes recovering after open heart surgery

Jimmy Barnes has made it through his open heart surgery and is recovering in the ICU, supported by his wife Jane.

I’m happy to let you know that our Jimmy has made it through his surgery and is now recovering in the ICU. We’re so grateful for the incredible medical team looking after him. Thank you all.

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‘The age of fossil fuels will end’: Australia’s Chris Bowen hails Cop28 agreement

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Climate change minister says deal is not perfect but ‘transition away’ from oil and gas sends clear message to investors

Climate change minister Chris Bowen says the Cop28 climate summit sent a clear message that “our future is in clean energy and the age of fossil fuels will end”, but acknowledged it did not go as far as most countries wanted.

Nearly 200 countries agreed to a deal that for the first time called on all nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis.

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Chris Bowen backs ‘a big step forward’ on phasing out fossil fuels at Cop28

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Australia’s climate minister flags difficulties around any final wording but hails ‘important symbol’ as talks intensify in Dubai

Chris Bowen has indicated Australia may be willing to back a global commitment at the Cop28 climate summit to phase out fossil fuels.

The Australian climate change minister has also flagged that position may be unlikely to be adopted at the meeting in the United Arab Emirates unless it was attached to the word “unabated” – a controversial and undefined term usually taken to mean fossil fuels can continue if they are cutting their pollution through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS).

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Australia ends finance for fossil fuel expansion overseas – now focus turns to local subsidies

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Albanese government announces at Cop28 it will phase out offshore support for coal, oil and gas within a year

The Australian government has been praised for joining a global partnership committed to stopping billions of dollars in foreign aid and loans being spent on fossil fuel expansion, but the decision has also prompted renewed calls for it to reconsider polluting subsidies at home.

The Albanese government announced at the Cop28 climate summit that it had joined 40 other countries in signing up to the clean energy transition partnership, an agreement first reached in Glasgow two years ago.

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News live: Australia signs renewables pledge at Cop28; Brisbane mayor quits 2032 Olympics role

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Adrian Schrinner says the Palaszczuk government has ‘completely lost its way’ on road to event as he quits Brisbane 2032 Games delivery forum. Follow the day’s news live

Australia backs COP28 renewables, energy efficiency vow

Now for some more detail on Australia – along with 118 nations - signing a pledge at the COP28 climate summit to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

“We know that renewables are the cleanest and cheapest form of energy - and that energy efficiency can also help drive down bills and emissions,”

Australia has the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the world and has a plan to get to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 to deliver cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy.

It’s clear that the games have become more about over-priced stadiums rather than the promise of vital transport solutions.

The state government’s ham-fisted and foolish attempt to extort Brisbane ratepayers for tens of millions of dollars for a new RNA stadium was the final straw.

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Australia politics live: Albanese says Israel-Hamas war protest at Melbourne hotel ‘beyond contempt’

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Chalmers: ‘We are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation’

Is Jim Chalmers confident that interest rates could fall from next year?

My job is to focus on this fight against inflation. And we saw overnight from the OECD, we saw from Deloitte Access Economics, we saw in the Bureau of Statistics data which came out yesterday, that we are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation and that will determine the future directory trajectory of interest rates

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Time running out to make prosperous transition to net zero emissions, Australia warned

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Climate Change Authority tells Labor government rapid action is needed, including accelerating emissions cuts from oil and gas

Australia risks falling short of its 2030 climate target and time is running out for it to make a prosperous transition to net zero emissions on its own terms, the independent Climate Change Authority has warned.

The authority’s annual assessment of Australia’s progress on climate said the country still had time to take advantage of the opportunities a net zero world presented, but it risked the transition to a clean economy being “dictated to us by the actions of others around the world” the longer it delayed.

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Extending incentives for rooftop solar panels beyond 2030 and expanding them to include household batteries and private electric vehicle chargers

Accelerating emissions cuts from oil and gas by introducing international best practice measures to cut methane emissions and leaks, and requiring facilities to sequester all carbon dioxide pollution

Coordinating with state and territory governments to agree on timing for the retirement of fossil fuel generators

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Chris Bowen warns global heating will fuel political instability in annual climate statement

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Parliament to hear increased ‘fragility’ of energy networks ‘could be used by hostile actors’ amid existential national security risk to Pacific neighbours

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, will declare runaway global heating remains a national security threat and predict that countries vulnerable to sea level rise will look to Australia to provide “mobility with dignity” as the climate crisis deepens.

Bowen will tell parliament on Thursday that extreme weather events caused by climate change will also place increased strain on Australia’s energy networks, warning “this fragility could be used by hostile actors”.

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Climate protesters arrested at Port of Newcastle blockade – as it happened

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‘The biggest transformation in our country’s history’

Chris Bowen has been talking about Labor’s plans for reducing emissions, but he’s pressed on the fact that the government has been approving new coalmines and gas projects, which add to global emissions.

The way I see this, David, you can enter into a discussion with your international counterparts which we are doing which is us saying to them, “We will continue to be a reliable energy supplier but we want to work with you on your decarbonisation because we have advantages that you don’t have. We can provide renewable energy.” That is an important conversation to have.

Frankly the approach of others is more a slogan than a policy. We are making the biggest transformation in our country’s history and that involves both domestic policies and strong international engagements, as I will be doing over the next couple of weeks and we have been doing all the way through.

It will be treated in the budget statement of risks and liabilities in the normal fashion. But this is the right policy for the right times to ensure emissions come down and reliability goes up.

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Cop28: Australia to bring evidence it can meet 2030 climate target but pressure builds over fossil fuels

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Chris Bowen says country ‘reaping the economic opportunities’ of clean energy as emissions projection improves

The Albanese government will head to a major UN climate summit in Dubai furnishing new evidence that Australia is all but on track to meet its 2030 emissions target, but facing calls that it must do more to limit the country’s fossil fuel exports.

A snapshot of an upcoming emissions projections report released by the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, suggests Australia will likely cut its CO2 pollution to 42% below 2005 levels by 2030 – nearly in line with the government’s 43% reduction target.

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Small modular nuclear reactor that was hailed by Coalition as future cancelled due to rising costs

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Opposition climate and energy spokesperson had pointed to SMRs as a solution to Australia’s energy needs, but experts raise questions over price tag

The only small modular nuclear power plant approved in the US – cited by the Australian opposition as evidence of a “burgeoning” global nuclear industry – has been cancelled due to rising costs.

NuScale Power announced on Wednesday that it had dropped plans to build a long-promised “carbon free power project” in Idaho. It blamed the decision on a lack of subscribers for the plant’s electricity.

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