Australia can become clean energy superpower, minister says

Australia will find exporting fossil fuels increasingly difficult but can switch to exporting clean energy products, the president of the next UN climate negotiations has declared.

Speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, argued his country had led the global push to “transition away from fossil fuels” – based on the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids – and that its economy could manage the switch.

Australia is one of the world’s biggest exporters of coal and gas, and the Labor government of Anthony Albanese has approved more than 30 fossil fuel developments and expansions since its election in 2022. But Bowen acknowledged fossil fuels and high-carbon goods would face a shrinking market.

“We have to recognise that the world is committed to net zero – more than 80% of our trading partners are committed to net zero,” he 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.”

On renewable energy, Bowen said: “Our track record on that is pretty strong now. Australia can play a role in decarbonising many countries. If you look at how we can work on our role as a potential renewable energy superpower, we could play a much bigger role in reducing emissions internationally.”

He said Australia, which along with the Pacific Islands pushed for UN talks in 2023 to resolve to “transition away from fossil fuels” for the first time, had many advantages. “Yes, we’re a large fossil fuels exporter. But we also happen to have huge potential in the renewable energy sector. We’re blessed in that regard. Not every country can do that,” he said.

The Bonn talks come as the Australian government is under pressure at home from a right wing opposed to climate action. 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.

Australia is a leader in household solar and, more recently, batteries. More than one in three homes have rooftop solar panels and more than 400,000 small batteries have been installed since a government subsidy began in July. That has reduced demand for expensive gas-fired power and started to lower power bills.

As well as exporting green energy from solar and wind to countries such as Singapore that lack the resources to generate much of their own, Bowen said Australia could export goods and services made with clean energy to countries and companies looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

“You can export green hydrogen, you can export electrons through cables, you can make things with that renewable energy, you can export green gigabytes, green artificial intelligence. You can have datacentres in Australia and export the AI to countries that maybe can’t do that,” he said. “We’ll work with trading partners [and] will also be a reliable supplier of old energy as we’re developing together new energy.”

Bowen will preside over the formal negotiations at the next UN climate summit, Cop31, in Turkey this November. The Turkish environment minister, Murat Kurum, will co-host, taking charge of the “action agenda”, which largely consists of voluntary actions countries undertake to tackle the climate crisis.

Governments have gathered in Bonn, where the UN’s climate secretariat is based, this week and next for preparatory talks ahead of Cop31. One of the key issues under discussion has been electrification, which is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport, heating and cooling, and industry.

Kurum said electrification was “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].”