hell freezes over, the FT opens the door to nationalization

The #mining industry is burning even more diesel for the same amount of production as they have to dig digger for hard to cut coal, and lack of action on #electric options.

"This budget is ... a government just waiting for things to return to “normal”... The only responsible action for a government is to ... protect citizens from the impending chaos of fossil fuel collapse." This budget is silent on climate. As Joshi puts it elsewhere, this is "tactical fatalism".

There is no combination of magic words that will convince large segments of capital to be ok with decarbonizing the U.S. economy!

No surprises here: the Business Council of Australia pushes back at data centres being regulated to cover climate pollution, and instead calls for increased use of high-polluting fossil gas at data centre projects instead. Much more from me, coming soon.. www.theaustralian.com.au/business/ren...

Publication day! Here I try to figure out what the ALP is up to with climate and energy. I argue by relying on private capital to build out its "transition", the Albanese gvt will ultimately fail to decarbonise. Open access! No paywall! @ausjpolsci.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

100 episodes of After America. It's been quite a journey. @emmashortis.bsky.social australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-uni...

READ THIS! Brilliant writing from a fantastic person, one @natashaheenan.bsky.social. Well worth the subscription to the exciting new @the-breakdown.bsky.social journal. There is so much writing on the climate - but Tash really challenges me think differently. www.break-down.org/producing-th...

Must read by @danielagabor.bsky.social @benbraun.eurosky.social "This, we argue, is the pathway for the Santa Marta countries to achieve the decarbonized sovereignty imperative—the strategic pursuit of decarbonization as a matter of national security" www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aga...

Bad news alert! Just when you thought things couldnt get worse, the Minns NSW govt opens up far west NSW to fracking. There is *no case* for this, beyond private profiteering. The good news is that we wont take this lying down. www.resources.nsw.gov.au/sites/defaul...

"To find optimism in geopolitical rivalry is to place one’s faith in abstract forces rather than human beings. It is, in this sense, a kind of pessimism." New from Casey A. Williams, on why the renewable boost driven by war in Iran may not be cause for optimism. www.break-down.org/why-climate-...

If you have a few $$, join your Union @nteunion.bsky.social www.crikey.com.au/2026/04/14/s... It is the only protection against corporate greed gone mad. Perhaps some of these "managers" should face criminal charges?

Funny how measures the climate crisis has warranted -- in vain -- for decades are immediately called forth by capitalist crisis

A Scott Morrison-era university policy is likely worsening Australia's skills shortages, with poorer students not choosing different degrees but deciding to forgo university entirely. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/16/s...

"If you had told me that in 2026, almost four years into the life of a Labor government, JRG would still be firmly in place, I would not have believed you." I thought @frankbongiorno.bsky.social never missed! Well he doesnt here. JRG @jasonclaremp.bsky.social? insidestory.org.au/the-preserva...

Happy #PiDay! Here are some pies to consider: If nothing changes, the remaining carbon budget to stay under 1.5°C, 1.7°C, and 2°C will be used up in 4, 12, and 25 years, respectively. Let’s eat up by setting all the fossil fuels on fire.

Opinion | Writing exclusively for Crikey, Grace Tame reflects on the prime minister calling her "difficult", the media storm following her pro-Palestine chant, and which social causes do and don't ignite public support. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/g...

"It isn’t a stretch to claim, as Malm and Carton do, that an actual energy transition—of the sort that Fressoz shows has never occurred—would challenge the basic power structures of global capitalism and geopolitics." Excellent review with far-reaching implications from @triofrancos.bsky.social

Not only does the Australian Government give Japanese gas export giant Inpex all the gas it exports from Darwin FOR FREE, and lets them pay virtually no tax... Inpex "systematically underestimated' by 40X leaks of cancer causing benzene near Darwin. Consequences? www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

I cannot ever stop tearing my hair out about climate activists being labelled 'unrealistic' when the fossil fuel business bros persistently do shit like this www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

It never ceases to confound me just how many folks think the point of essays is to provide teachers with essays. That teachers just like, collect them, or need them for sustenance or something. Rather than the point of them being the *actual fucking act of learning how to think about shit*

"Angus Taylor is preparing his new opposition leader’s office, with oil and gas lobbyist Sam Riordan set to be made his chief of staff. Riordan has been with the Australian Energy Producers since August last year."

Critical work from incredible scholars - especially my brilliant colleague @lizhumphrys.bsky.social "...a collective effort to unsettle the existing conditions that regulate the toxicities of academia for everyone. We intend this article as a provocation..."

If economists want to talk about crowding out, they should have a very strong look at the gas industry Building new mines that are not needed (80% of gas is exported), and are terrible for climate change,take workers away from build roads, rail.. and homes. live.thepoint.com.au/2026/02/the-...

New research from The Australia Institute finds that Australia is the most expensive developed country for families to send a child to high school. It costs Australian families $4,967 per year - almost four times the OECD average. Read more: theaus.in/4anjEAp

It's been a hot January in Australia. A fast attribution study shows that heatwaves like that of 5-10 January have been made 5x more likely by anthropogenic climate change. A "total transformation of the Australian summer" says @sarahinscience.bsky.social www.21centuryweather.org.au/climate-chan...

Public renewables and actual planning now!

I'll be building on this recent @theconversation.com piece theconversation.com/if-ai-takes-...

Sooooooo much focus on the LNP ditching net zero by 2050. Meanwhile, Labor, in plain sight, is very much tracking the same way. The Fourth Estate…

If David Littleproud thinks OECD averages are good policy benchmarks, someone should tell him about the average tax rate.

"why would the peak mining body set net zero targets if it meant destroying their own industry? ... net zero is not about shutting up shop. It’s about ... reaching net zero through offsets" Repacholi saying the ALP's quiet part out loud. Absolutely critical coverage by @ketanjoshi.co

"Exports of Australian gas carry “substantial risks” of slowing the move to cleaner energy in Asian countries, according to a confidential report for the Western Australian government that undermines the government’s own narrative that the industry helps cut global emissions."

Imagine kicking the former national rugby captain out of your sports club instead of the gambling lobby. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, who'd want to belong to a club that would accept Responsible Wagering Australia as one of its sponsors?

This is incredible news, and shows the incredible power of collective action. The fight against the neoliberal university (my own included) goes on, but its nice to hear some good news for a change.

The Production Gap report is one of the most important publications I know of. With each iteration we see fossil capital continuing to bet against our future. Either we curb fossil fuel production on the supply side, or we all burn - market prices will not wind this industry down.

The Labour government, in its relentless quest to prove Marxists were right about the state, is about to hand more of our every day life to private equity share.google/kbaGuwRP7XsS...

Based on current policies, oil & gas demand could grow for 25 years rather than peaking this decade as expected, according to a IEA draft report Coal consumption will peak in the 2030s, but demand in 2050 would be over 50% higher than expected, according to calculations by @javierblas.bsky.social

This is huge!

As the world rapidly heads into #climate #overshoot I've noticed a disturbing pattern in journal articles recently. I'll summarize it quickly in this thread 🧵

A gut-wrenching read from a brilliant scholar, on the crisis at ANU. It speaks to the broader sickness in our universities (including my own). FYI @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @hannahforsyth.bsky.social @capandgown.bsky.social @joshuablackjb.bsky.social overland.org.au/2025/08/anu-...

For decades the world's biggest above-ground tank - located 7km from Darwin- has been leaking huge quantities of LNG- possibly the equivalent of millions of tonnes of C02.

"any goal north of 60 per cent will require a major expansion of emissions reductions in the transport, industrial and agricultural sectors" yep that is the entire point????????????????????????????????????????????? www.afr.com/policy/energ...

Australia might finally be on track to have enough renewables to dodge blackouts as our coal fleet retires over the next decade, according to a new AEMO forecast. Last year we added a record 4.4 GW of solar, wind & batteries, with more on the way. Story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

tfw your joint intellectual project makes it out of the group chat. Thanks @kurtiveson.bsky.social for your astonishing write up of our work! We're merely picking up on the threads of spatial and environmental political economy laid down by yourself and many others!

50 Years of Political Economy. Some fantastic articles, but only one has brought me to tears. @kurtiveson.bsky.social's generous contribution takes time to dwell on the PhD theses of @natashaheenan.bsky.social, Anna Sturman, and myself. @ppesydney.bsky.social 1/ www.ppesydney.net/jape-issues/...

Announcing a PhD scholarship for a history project on imperialism and great power projection in the Pacific. Supervised by Prudence Flowers and I here at Flinders, Adelaide. It includes an international fee waiver and stipend. Start Jan 2026. www.flinders.edu.au/scholarships...

There is a lot written on the crisis in our universities. You wont find anything more concise, from anyone more qualified, than this excellent, short piece from @hannahforsyth.bsky.social

🚨 PhD Scholarship 🚨 Thinking about a PhD on the political economy of climate change? Want to work with some of the kindest and best scholars in the field? Do this. Tbh, I'm jealous of whoever gets this!!!