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Fergus Green

Articles by Fergus Green (9)

  • Fergus Green 8 Dec 2015 08:34

    The finishing straight in Paris: Why the ratchet mechanism is (almost) everything

    People often ask me what I think a successful Paris climate agreement would entail. I’ve said there is a handful of key elements, each tough but possible to get global agreement on, without which it would be difficult to credibly claim success. While I still think all the elements in that handful are important, after the first week of tortuous negotiations in which many now seem unattainable in a desirable form, there is one that stands out as crucial.
  • Fergus Green 12 Aug 2015 15:04

    Australia's renewable energy wars: How to win the argument for green power

    The first post in this three-part series compared the energy plans of Australia's major political parties with the rest of the world. The second post considered the economics of Australia transitioning to a renewables-based energy system. When it comes to the politics of climate change and renewable energy, it is relevant to consider both strategy and tactics. Climate change is not going to be solved with a single giant global treaty and a perfect emissions trading scheme.
  • Fergus Green 12 Aug 2015 15:04

    Australia's renewable energy wars: How to win the argument for green power

    The first post in this three-part series compared the energy plans of Australia's major political parties with the rest of the world. The second post considered the economics of Australia transitioning to a renewables-based energy system. When it comes to the politics of climate change and renewable energy, it is relevant to consider both strategy and tactics. Climate change is not going to be solved with a single giant global treaty and a perfect emissions trading scheme.
  • Fergus Green 11 Aug 2015 10:21

    Australia's renewable energy wars: Why it pays to go green, unilaterally

    The first post in this three-part series compared Australia's decarbonsation plans with the rest of the world. This second post considers the economics of Australia transitioning to a renewables-based energy system. In a recent Grantham Research Institute Working Paper, I argue that the well-managed decarbonisation of a representative country's economy would be nationally net-beneficial even in narrow, neoclassical economic terms, for most sectors.
  • Fergus Green 16 Dec 2014 13:15

    Lima climate conference: Slow movement on Planet UNFCCC

    As haggard negotiators left the UN climate change conference in Lima in the early hours of Sunday morning, many observers noted the contrast between the political acrimony that characterised the final days of these tortured discussions and the sense of optimism that many felt going into the talks just a fortnight earlier. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop delivering the Australian National Statement at the UNFCCC Conference in Lima, Peru, 10 December 2014
  • Fergus Green 17 Jul 2014 11:14

    Australia's carbon price repeal: The global context

    With the repeal today of Australia's two-year-old carbon pricing scheme, the Abbott Government has formalised Australia's transition from climate laggard to climate wrecker. But just how serious a blow to global climate efforts is this repeal? To answer this question we can compare Australia without the carbon price to pre-repeal Australia.