Australia, a nation that exports coal and gas like some people export passive-aggressive notes to flatmates, has finally acknowledged that the global market for these products might be drying up. Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy and the president of the next UN climate negotiations, made this stunning admission while speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany.
Bowen argued that Australia has led the charge to “transition away from fossil fuels,” pointing to the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids. This is the same government that has approved more than 30 fossil fuel developments and expansions since 2022, but hey, nobody's perfect. “We have to recognise that the world is committed to net zero - more than 80% of our trading partners are committed to net zero,” Bowen said in an interview. “The world is changing. We can pretend that’s not happening, as some in Australian domestic politics do. Or we can prepare.”
Australia is a leader in household solar and batteries, with more than one in three homes sporting rooftop solar panels and over 400,000 small batteries installed since a government subsidy began in July. This has already reduced demand for expensive gas-fired power and started to lower power bills. Bowen sees a future where Australia exports green hydrogen, electrons through cables, and even “green gigabytes, green artificial intelligence.” Because nothing says “climate savior” like exporting AI to countries that can't do it themselves.
The Bonn talks come as the Australian government faces pressure at home from a right wing that apparently missed the memo on climate change. One Nation, a political party that denies temperatures are increasing and extreme weather events are worsening, received 6% of the vote in last year’s federal election but has leapt to about 30% support in recent polling. So there's that.
Bowen will preside over the formal negotiations at the next UN climate summit, Cop31, in Turkey this November, co-hosted by Turkish environment minister Murat Kurum. The key issue under discussion in Bonn is electrification, which Kurum called “the most important tool in the toolkit” for fighting the climate crisis. “Unless we go through this transformation, we won’t be able to achieve the target [of limiting global heating to 1.5C],” he said. So basically, Australia is trying to sell its coal while simultaneously planning to sell the solution to the problem coal caused. Clever.