Jeremy Sung

Energy efficiency is the unsung hero of Europe’s industrial competitiveness.

Without efficiency gains since 2000, industry would use 1/3 more energy—costing tens of billions more every year.

It’s not just energy prices that matter, but how smartly we use energy.

While it is true that formal emissions accounting rules attribute the emissions created from the burning of fossil fuels to the places where these are burned, anyone who tries use this fact to entirely absolve Australia of any responsibility is either critically incompetent or critically dishonest. Most likely both. Like the incompetent/dishonest example, more than one thing can be true at once. Australia shares responsibility for these emissions because without the endorsement of Australian governments these fossil fuels would never have been burned. And if anyone tries to tell you that if we didn’t sell them, someone else would: kindly ask them to point to which country is politely sitting on its hands with a fossil fuel reserves capable of meeting 50% of the world’s trade in metallurgical coal, one-fifth of the world’s trade in thermal coal and one-fifth of the world’s liquefied gas. If Australia didn’t supply these fuels, there is no country on the planet that could replace it.

This piece by @timinclimate.bsky.social is a complete banger. I have really never ever read such a comprehensive analysis of Australia's fossil export emissions like this, it is something else.

Go read the whole thing now --->>>

timinclimate.medium.com/australia-em...

In short I wouldn’t read too closely into the numbers in any specific year, which is why we speak in averages over the 10 year period. The analysis is derived from an economy-wide abatement optimisation model not a bottom up model so it’s a showing a high level view of cost effective abatement.

Apologies for the confusion Andrew. We had some updates to the charts late yesterday after noticing some errors in the versions that were posted initially (and which appeared in Renew Economy). Here are the updated ones: www.eec.org.au/policy-advoc.... Let me know if you have questions.

It was a pleasure working collaboratively with @frankiemuskovic.bsky.social @tennantreed.bsky.social @scipolmuggins.bsky.social @lukemenzel.bsky.social and Kellie Caught at ACOSS to get this out into the world.

Diagram of existing demand side governance

4) Develop new policies and delivery models that meet energy users where they are

5) Identify, understand and mitigate risks to equity

6) Put the demand side at the heart of broader energy governance reform.

The diagram below shows why rec 1 - a new energy performance agency - is crucial.

The report calls for policymakers to:

1) Immediately establish a national energy performance agency

2) Set national energy performance targets, and measure progress

3) Increase representation of consumers and demand side experts in decision-making

It’s been a while so I thought I’d come back to Bluesky with a post about a new report we’ve just released at the EEC with partners ACOSS, Ai Group and the Property Council.

“Demanding Better” calls for large scale reforms to Australia’s energy governance to unlock demand side opportunities.

Last year's budget announced $20,000 tax deductions for small business energy efficiency upgrades. The legislation to enable this has not even been introduced to parliament yet, and the deduction period ends in two weeks' time.

Most want energy-efficient homes but are stuck on price Most Australian buyers, renters and builders want energy-efficient homes, a study has found, but high prices and a...

"Solar panels, efficient lighting and insulation are among the most wanted energy-saving devices for property buyers and renters, according to a new study, but price and a lack of knowledge is holding back investments." www.canberratimes.com.au/story/856536...

A new 5 yr Belgian study shows the BIG impact of increasing vehicle weight on road deaths & injuries. When a person on a bike or walking is hit by a pick-up, the risk of serious injury increases by 90% compared to a car. The risk of death goes up by 200%.
www.vias.be/fr/newsroom/...

Cart is a ripoff imho. We found a second hand table online.

I can attest that the Weber does a fine job.

australia leads the world in planned new coal mines

Congratulations, Australia: you lead the world, again

www.iea.org/news/global-...

📢 Victoria’s plan to get off gas v2 is out. In 2024 they will:

1) examine banning gas connections to more homes and some businesses (small shops and offices but not restos)
2) examine expanding min rental standards
3) add induction stoves into VEU

www.energy.vic.gov.au/__data/asset...

My father in law says a huge storm in Canberra has knocked out the power in his area. His EV with V2L is powering the fridge and lights and while it’s going to be 38 degrees today, their passive solar designed home will not get anywhere near that temp. Another win for efficient electric homes.

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That there are more renewables in the mix is a good thing overall but keep in mind that there's still plenty of work to be done on the demand side to improve energy efficiency in Australia so we shouldn’t be too distracted by that headline energy intensity improvement metric.

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Renewable electricity is less energy intensive because of the way energy is accounted for in the global energy balances. E.g., while a solar panel may only be 30% efficient at converting sunlight to energy, there's no cost to using sunlight for electricity so the efficiency doesn't matter.

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In other words, what you see in the data (and in the IEA's headline metric) reflects not only improvements in how much energy your fridge uses to keep your food cool, but also the fact that there's more solar and wind in the electricity grid.

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Eg, the Government notes the numbers reflect not only energy efficiency improvements but also 'the shift in the Australian economy away from highly energy-intensive industries' and 'increased use of renewable energy instead of fossil fuels for electricity generation.'

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In Australia, the latest data from the Australian Energy Statistics show we hit an annual improvement rate of 3.6% in 2022. It's worth noting that primary energy / GDP (the metric the IEA uses to measure energy intensity improvements) is an imperfect measure of 'energy efficiency'.

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The report highlights that the crisis in Europe drove some impressive numbers there last year (e.g. the Netherlands saw a 14% improvement in 2022!) as governments took action to reduce dependence on Russian gas.

The IEA has just released its 2023 energy efficiency market report. As a peer reviewer of the report, I'll be dissecting its findings for Australian audience, starting with the headline indicator: a 1.3% improvement in global energy intensity.

www.iea.org/reports/ener...

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