Let Me Sum Up

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like bonus subscriber-only episodes, including our feelpinions about the recent US election! Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

–

We left you all on a cliffhanger last episode, so for those of you paying absolutely no attention to news reports we’re here to resolve all plotlines! How much did the developed world commit in climate finance? Did the UAE dialogue generate crackling conversation, or trail off awkwardly? And how many thrilling breakthroughs can one Article 6 have in a single COP? We reveal all! 

To note:

• If you want to dig into any of the texts referenced in this episode we recommend Carbon Brief’s excellent negotiating texts tracker. 
• If you would like to supplement the sleep deprived, discursive ramblings of this podcast with some actual reporting, their COP29 outcomes summary is second to none.
• But if you are all like ‘read? Pfft. Give me more pods!’ you can check out Luke’s interview at COP with Assistant Minister for Climate and Energy Josh Wilson over on First Fuel.

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like bonus subscriber-only episodes, including our feelpinions about the recent US election!!. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

Our main topic

It is Back to Baku (sort of) as Frankie, Luke and Tennant report from the ground at COP29  in Azerbaijan, and call in reinforcements (someone has to be on hand to remind us of the storied history of cover texts) in the form of climate journalism luminary Dr Simon Evans from Carbon Brief!

And there is much to discuss! How is Trump's election affecting the mood on the ground? What about those early NDCs from UK and Brazil? What is up with all those Article 6 shenanigans on Day 1? And are we any closer to closing a deal on finance at the, you know, Finance COP?

It's a lot, frankly. So if you want even more extemporaneous opinions – especially on the rich program of side events – don't forget to check out our Youtube channel for daily updates from the ground.

One more things

Tennant's one more thing is, shockingly, CBAM related, specifically the way trade issues are being raised – and shut down – at the COP.  Who saw that coming?

Frankie's is One more thing is the themes emerging in UNFCCC side events that suggest an increasing focus on what we do if we overshoot 1.5 degrees of warming.

Simon's one more thing is a reflection on the through the looking glass experience of attending a climate conference in a petrostate, brought into sharp relief by an incongruous art installation on the Baku foreshore.

Luke's one more thing is a plug for the Trump election reaction episode that our Patreon subscribers have just had drop into their feeds. If you are here for LMSU feelpinions on the Trump win, head on over to Patreon.com/letmesumup

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like bonus subscriber-only episodes and - dare we say it - the prospect of elusive LMSU t-shirt designs?! Only one way to find out. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

Our Main Paper

We interrupt regular programming to bring you an extra, rapid reaction episode to a very special development. And sorry folks, it’s not the US election result, that happened *after* we recorded this one. 

Mariah Carey has been defrosted and Christmas has come early for one member of the LMSU team in particular! That’s right folks, the threat of Tennant performing CBAM The Musical outside DCCEEW offices has resulted in the release of the government’s second consultation paper as part of its Carbon Leakage Review. A thoughtful and detailed analysis lays out the key risks of carbon leakage across different commodities in terms of trade and investment, and suggests that YES INDEED, there is a role for a Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism. That’s right, it’s a BoCA and most definitely not a CBAM, but whatever it is, it won’t hurt a bit?!

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! We're off to Baku to take the temperature and Trump redux climate politics, but until then  support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like bonus subscriber-only episodes and - dare we say it - the prospect of elusive LMSU t-shirt designs?! Only one way to find out. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

—

After Frankie brazenly reclaims a corner of the pod for the infamous “Shirtfronting with Frankie” (become a Super Summerupperer for a first look at t-shirt designs!) your intrepid hosts dive into a pre-COP-primer as the next Conference of Parties is almost upon us! And never fear, the LMSU team will be on the ground in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing you the latest on the negotiations. What’s on the menu for COP29? Finance, dollars and more finance! Negotiations on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance are centre stage, co-chaired by Australia’s own Minister Bowen. And as pressure is due to ramp up on the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions, let’s not forget the spectre of the US election and its impact on the mood on the ground…

Bonus: check out our wrap of last year’s COP28 as your amuse bouche for Baku!

Our main paper

Having failed to come up with a compelling turn of phrase for NCQG (we’ll work on it) we dive into the OECD’s Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2013-22, a summary on how we’ve faired against the existing $100 billion a year goal. So, have we made it? OECD says yes, in 2022. LMSU says, asterisk! Conditions apply.

Bonus nerdery: a draft framework for negotiations on the NCQG, including how they might be defining developed vs developing countries. 

One more things

Tennant’s One More Thing is: listener feedback from Deeper Decarb on our National Hydrogen Strategy episode who said we had neglected the possibility of electrolysis leading to higher emissions without focusing on where projects would be sourcing energy. T’s response? The Govt reckons she’ll be apples! Subsidies and the need for low cost energy to be competitive means. Also check out DD’s substack!

Frankie’s One More Thing is: the recent and unexpected politicisation of, of all things, the National Construction Code! That’s right, there’s a stoush brewing over whether there should be a 10-year pause to further changes to the NCC, which, in this intrepid host’s view, would be BONKERS in the critical decade for climate action. 

Luke’s One More Thing is: a tribute to the LMSU ‘Super Summerupperers’ trivia team who managed a podium finish, coming in third at Currently Speaking’s trivia night in Melbourne. Special thanks to listeners Dylan, Dean and Ben for joining us! If only we’d listened to you at some critical moments. But we won't flog that dead horse!

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like bonus subscriber-only episodes and tasty extras like our episode notes, custom memes and climate reworks of classic songs - it’s a vibe. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

—

This week your intrepid hosts pop the frunk to take a look at just what is going on with trucks! Thanks to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Smart Freight Centre, we charged up on the latest with this zippy investor guide to zero emissions commercial vehicles that declares the time is NOW because progress is nascent in this part of the transport puzzle. In what looks to be another victory for electrification, battery electric vehicles are on the sweet steep learning curve and currently wiping the floor with hydrogen fuel cell trucks at 90% of the global market this year.

Our main paper

In yet another worrying sign we just can’t stop the GASbagging, we’re back for more to find out just How much gas does the future grid need? Thanks to Jay Gordon at the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), we get a corrective on some of the spin from the gas industry who claim the 2024 ISP confirmed “ gas-powered generation will play a greater role in the National Electricity Market (NEM) to 2050” (!) Our hot take? More like: gas peakers = the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the ISP matrix.

Bonus nerdery discussed: 

• Could this major German green steel project be on the ropes? Possibly!
• Is every Matrix movie other than the original terrible? Yes!

One more things

Tennant’s One More Thing is: the worrying continuation of wild conspiracy theories - adopted by US Republicans - linked to geoengineering that now claim that the devastating Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton was being engineered by… the government!? Yikes.

Frankie’s One More Thing is: the quiet release of the Australian Government’s ‘Achieving 30 by 30 on land’ - the national roadmap for protecting and conserving 30% of Australia’s land by 2030 - the week *after* hosting a Global Nature Summit. We’ll let you Summerupperers read between the lines on that one! 

Luke’s One More Thing is: to announce the lucky winners of tickets to join us at Currently Speaking's trivia night coming up in Melbourne on Wednesday, 23 October! Welcoming Super Summerupperers Dylan, Dean and Ben to Team LMSU - It’s ON folks!

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net

.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like our recent bonus episodes on nuclear (could it work?) Plus tasty extras like our episode notes, custom memes and climate themed reworks of classic songs - it’s a vibe. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

—

This week your intrepid hosts are joined by LMSU co-host-at-large - aka the sensible lady in paragraph five - none other than Grattan climate maven Alison Reeve!

After hanging out for the much anticipated speech by Peter Dutton on the Opposition’s nuclear policy, at an event titled “Nuclear: could it work?” your intrepid hosts can report *shrug emojis* with side of *skeptical brow emojis* because there was NO new information in that speech. NADA. That did not stop the enterprising folks at IEEFA, who penned this analysis suggesting nuclear would add big $$ to all our energy bills and have no hope of making returns, ever. Our humble take? Pay big for it we will (T’s got some dodgy numbers!), but maybe through taxes rather than our energy bills. Tomayto, tomahto. Bless the folks at IEEFA for  creating the policy in order to model it!

Our main paper
It’s all engines go as the LMSU pit crew review the updated National Hydrogen Strategy, But before we get too H2 Fast H2 Furious, we jump in the DeLorean with Alison as she recounts the backstory on the original 2019 Hydrogen Strategy. So how does the 2024 model compare? Less hype, no tripe, some pipe! Clear-eyed and bullish about the role of green hydrogen in hard to abate sectors and key export opportunities, this hydrogen strategy is a shift to getting hy on our own supply!

Bonus: our third episode ever covering IRENA’s report on hydrogen carriers is the fine wine to accompany this main course.

One more things

Tennant’s One More Thing is: the passage of legislation in Tennessee to ban solar geoengineering - by Republicans, because, chemtrails! 

Alison’s One More Thing is: the end of coal power in the UK! With the closing of the last coal power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, it’s a symbolic shift as the country that first introduced coal-fired power in the industrial revolution continues its decarbonisation journey..

Frankie’s One More Thing is: the Australian Government hosting a Global Nature Positive Summit on Gadigal country in Sydney on 8-10 October against the backdrop of not much progress on nature positive reforms!

Luke’s One More Thing is: to remind you there are spare tickets up for grabs for Super Summerupperers to come join us at Currently Speaking's trivia night in Melbourne on Wednesday, 23 October! We have three spare tickets for the LMSU trivia team, and maybe they have your name on them! Just head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, make sure you are a paying subscriber, and answer this question: in 25 words or less, tell us what novel strategy Tennant should employ to get the Carbon Leakage Review second report released. The three most creative, least illegal answers get a ticket!

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Come join us at Currently Speaking's trivia night!  Our friends at the Currently Speaking newsletter are putting on a trivia night in Melbourne on Wednesday, 23 October (on the evening of the first day of the All Energy Australia exhibition and conference). So you should get onto that, obviously. But if you are a Super Summerupperer (or ready to sign up) we have three spare tickets for the LMSU trivia team, and maybe they have your name on them! Just head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, make sure you are a paying subscriber, and answer this question: in 25 words or less, tell us what novel strategy Tennant should employ to get the Carbon Leakage Review second report released. The three most creative, least illegal answers get a ticket!

—

Luke and Frankie try to distract Tennant from his increasing desperation and dismay at the lack of CBAM content on the local menu, but happily your intrepid hosts have pathways-a-plenty to snack on with the Climate Change Authority publishing their final Sector Pathways Review! Feeding into the government’s work on the six sectoral decarbonisation plans, there is bottom-up and economy-wide modelling to consume. The TL;DR? A decent serve of residual emissions to net off, and engineered removals? We’ll need a fewwwwww!

And if you’re after more of a main course on CCA sector pathways, we recommend this fresh episode of First Fuel with Brad Archer: *chef’s kiss*

Our main paper

This week the LMSU crew sample some fine dining that Gill Armstrong, Joshua Danahay and Mia Dewar at Climateworks Centre have served up: a delightful degustation of home energy upgrades in their latest report, Enabling Australia’s home renovation wave. With three upgrade options across eight jurisdictions and sixty nine climate zones, your intrepid hosts had more than their fill of insulation packed options to improve Australia’s crappy old housing stock! A special hat tip to the team for their infographic game – it remains strong – and the interactive charts on the Climateworks website are especially worthy of your attention!

One more things

Tennant’s One More Thing is: the new and improved National Hydrogen Strategy v2. Should National Hydrogen Strategy v1 impresario Alison Reeve come back on the podcast and critique v2? Well should she? You, chicken, Reeve? PLUS a shout out and congratulations to friends of the pod, Erwin Jackson and Georgina Wood on their recent nuptials! 

Frankie’s One More Thing is: a shout out for the just launched campaign “Renew Australia For All” which has some sharp asks for upgrades to Australian homes AND pod rec for The Rest Is Politics US with Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci.

Luke’s One More Thing is: NSW has a new Consumer Energy Strategy! And residential mandatory disclosure is a thing! For realsies this time!

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like our recent bonus episodes on US election shenanigans and closer to home, the passing of legislation for the Net Zero Economy Agency and Climate-related Financial Disclosures. You will also find things you didn’t know you wanted (weekly photos of Frankie’s uber cute doggo, Tennant’s cats, cyber punk cosplay outfits and a general #GoodTime). Don’t be shy! Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

—

Your intrepid hosts open with some ill considered commitments on BoCo that will(?) be made available on the Patreon (who doesn’t love a cyberpunk-doggo mash up), barely mention the actual bonus episode we released last week (see above) before wading into the inviting waters of AEMO’s latest Electricity Statement of Opportunities. So what does 2024 ESOO have to say for itself? Everything is now terrific, reliability wise! OR IS IT??!! 

This year’s ESOO leads with the good news picture but *warning* we still need to read carefully and while some big projects have been approved (oh hi HumeLink!), we should be feeling the urgency of Getting Stuff Done. And that stuff MUST include energy performance retrofits of millions of Australian homes! Shout out Climateworks on their latest report, Enabling Australia’s home renovation wave, which has some great suggestions on that front.

Our main paper

Your intrepid hosts break down being down on emissions breaks with the hot new Science paper causing all the commotion in climate circles. Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades from Annika Stechemesser and collaborators, mainly from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, has more hot takes and fake takes than you can poke a stick at!  Listen on to hear ours - flaws we did find, it’s not all bad though - but also don’t just trust us! We reference some fantastic analysis of the paper from Emil Dimanchev which is well worth your time. Also, if Euler diagrams are your jam then this paper is for YOU.

One more things

Tennant’s One More Thing is: the decision by Korea’s highest court to require the legislature to put forward 2030-50 interim climate targets PLUS a Brian Deese article in Foreign Affairs calling for a clean energy Marshall Plan.

Frankie’s One More Thing is: a note on some worrying signs of breaks to commitments towards net zero housing and future changes to the National Construction Code after the SA government pressed pause on further changes for the next ten years.

Luke’s One More Thing is: This article from Currently Speaking (and the associated impromptu reading list). 

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Episode Notes

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like our recent bonus episode on brat summer and US election implications for climate, as well as other savoury morsels like our notes on papers read, alternate paper titles and so so many custom memes. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

—

After recent frolics in pre-and-post election climate speculation in the US and UK, your intrepid hosts turn their gaze to developments closer to home and ponder, could China be peaking its emissions early? We discuss this excellent article in Carbon Brief with data from respected China-watcher Lauri Myllyvirta. The short of it? It’s a complicated stew with a GIGANTIC cup of renewable energy growth, a generous dollop of post-COVID energy demand and a worrying scoop of coal-to-chemicals growth. 

Our main paper

Your intrepid hosts cross examine a bumper new report Global trends in climate litigation: 2024 snapshot from Joana Setzer and Catherine Higham from the London School of Economics' Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. This was a fascinating read on the many and varied approaches not-for-profits, governments and corporates are taking to litigating climate action, climate inaction and climate washing! Warning: contains SLAPP fights and green-on-green action.

One more things

Luke opens with some feedback from friend of the pod David McEwen. David thought we missed a trick around Frankie’s suggestion that it would take a while to replace budget revenue from fossil fuels and helpfully provided a link to an excellent paper from Paul J. Burke at the ANU Tax and Transfer Policy Institute which points out that our fossil fuel industry delivers <3% of combined state/territory and federal revenue. It shows the largest dependencies are coal royalties in QLD (Tennant has seen the ads to prove it!) and the federal fuel excise. Fair cop, we say, but even 3% would take some work to replace! Thanks for the support.

Frankie’s One More Thing is: a shout out for the FixIt Chicks, Jenny Edwards (notable energy efficiency expert and retrofit queen) and Lish Fejer (ABC journo and fabulous climate communicator) who’ve grown a cult following on their excellent insta full of handy reels on energy saving tips and tricks for the home. Love your work!

Tennant’s One More Thing is: a bold claim that the government’s nature positive reforms - even though they’ve been split into different stages with the truly difficult EPBC Act reform put off until after election - appear to be going nowhere fast! Stakeholders on all sides are not happy and things aren’t looking too good ahead of Australia hosting an international biodiversity summit.

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Sign up today for access to coveted BoCo like our recent bonus episode on brat summer and US election implications for climate, as well as other savoury morsels like our notes on papers read, alternate paper titles and so so many custom memes. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.

—

After shamelessly spruiking our latest subscriber-only bonus content – LMSU speculation on the US election and its implications for mitigation – we pop across the pond to pick over the scraps of the recent UK election. Did the Tories’ flirtation with an anti-green agenda cost them or was the prospect of warm homes and nationalising energy with GB Energy too tantalising to turn down? Maybe it was just time for the Tories to go! 

Our main paper
Having foreshadowed our curiosity about the current Quarterly Essay on our last pod, your intrepid hosts came for the excellent climate science but might have left before the policy diagnosis in Joëlle Gergis’ HIghway to Hell: Climate Change and Australia’s Future. It turns out that straying from your lane can be fraught and plagued with pesky potholes like politics and diplomacy, which are, like, totally simple and not at all riddled with their own peculiar complexities. Alas, they tried to make Japan go to rehab and Australia said “no, no, no.” 

One more things

Luke’s One More Thing is: Listener feedback! The folks from RE-Alliance took issue with a hypothesis floated on our last pod that folks from the regions may feel a sense of pride in the nation-building hosting of renewable energy infra. That’s a big fat NO according to research done by the RE-Alliance crew. Well then.

Tennant’s One More Thing is: HumeLink has been approved (economically, by the AER). Next: EPBC and NSW planning!

Frankie’s One More Thing is: A shout out to now-former Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Jenny McAllister, who was promoted in the recent reshuffle. From her work leading on early adaptation plans, energy performance and securing a billion-dollar fund for home energy upgrades, the LMSU crew salute you, and congrats on the new gig!

And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.