Just Transition: Implications for the Corporate Sector and Financial Institutions in Australia

Briggs, C; Mey, F

Just Transition: Implications for the Corporate Sector and Financial Institutions in Australia

Briggs, C

Mey, F

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Publisher:: Global Compact Network Australia
Publication Type:: Report
Citation:: 2020
Issue Date:: 2020-10-29

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Briggs, C https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1470-9358
dc.contributor.author	Mey, F
dc.date.accessioned	2022-08-11T01:22:15Z
dc.date.available	2022-08-11T01:22:15Z
dc.date.issued	2020-10-29
dc.identifier.citation	2020
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/159899
dc.description.abstract	The era of coal-fired power is coming to an end. Solar and wind energy are the least-cost source of new electricity generation in two-thirds of the world (Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2019) and growing rapidly at the expense of coal power. Under the Paris Agreement, almost all nations have signed commitments that require net zero emissions by 2050. Over 130 financial institutions globally have announced exit dates from financing, investing in or insuring thermal coal (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis [IEEFA]), 2020) and close to 1000 companies have set or committed to set targets aligned with the Paris Agreement under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted that COVID-19 has caused a plunge in energy demand ‘seven times greater than the global financial crisis’, impacting heavily on coal, oil and gas whilst renewable energy is proving so far to be more resilient (IEA, 2020). The full impact of COVID-19 will be determined by the recovery paths taken around the world, but if low thermal coal demand persists as economies reopen, coal retirements are likely to accelerate. The question is no longer ‘if’ there will be a transition from coal to renewable energy but ‘when’ and ‘how’. For coal producing countries such as Australia, the challenge is how to avoid a ‘disruptive’ transition with social and economic dislocation in coal regions, while at the same time positioning ourselves to maximise the economic opportunities.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Global Compact Network Australia
dc.relation	National Australia Bank
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Just Transition: Implications for the Corporate Sector and Financial Institutions in Australia
dc.type	Report
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2022-08-11T01:22:13Z
pubs.commissioning-body	National Australia Bank & Global Compact Network Australia
pubs.confidential	false
pubs.place-of-publication	Global Compact Network Australia
pubs.publication-status	Published online
dc.location	Global Compact Network Australia

Abstract:

The era of coal-fired power is coming to an end. Solar and wind energy are the least-cost source of new electricity generation in two-thirds of the world (Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2019) and growing rapidly at the expense of coal power. Under the Paris Agreement, almost all nations have signed commitments that require net zero emissions by 2050. Over 130 financial institutions globally have announced exit dates from financing, investing in or insuring thermal coal (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis [IEEFA]), 2020) and close to 1000 companies have set or committed to set targets aligned with the Paris Agreement under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted that COVID-19 has caused a plunge in energy demand ‘seven times greater than the global financial crisis’, impacting heavily on coal, oil and gas whilst renewable energy is proving so far to be more resilient (IEA, 2020). The full impact of COVID-19 will be determined by the recovery paths taken around the world, but if low thermal coal demand persists as economies reopen, coal retirements are likely to accelerate. The question is no longer ‘if’ there will be a transition from coal to renewable energy but ‘when’ and ‘how’. For coal producing countries such as Australia, the challenge is how to avoid a ‘disruptive’ transition with social and economic dislocation in coal regions, while at the same time positioning ourselves to maximise the economic opportunities.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/159899