Thread by @David_Ritter

Last night, #bigdealAU shone a light on the shadowy vested interests vying for control of our democracy.
A complex web of power around fossil fuel corporations is why national climate and energy policy in Australia is currently stuck.
Here’s a thread: #auspol

The fossil fuel industry has been blocking meaningful climate action in Australia for decades. As #bigdealAU pointed out, it’s not just them, but a whole network of key players. This Fossil Fuel Order is what's holding our democracy to ransom.
arena.org.au/empire-of-the-…

Investigations have unearthed a perverse web of connections between the world’s biggest coal giants, industry groups, lobbyists and powerful media organisations, which frustrate action on climate change: actinstapage.greenpeace.org.au/dirtypower

A 2019 report highlighted that Scott Morrison’s stuff team is dominated by former executives and employees of the coal industry, its lobbyists and pro-coal mastheads at NewsCorp.
apo.org.au/node/258826

Misleading coverage during the 2019/20 bushfires - obscuring the fundamental role of climate change - showed another dimension to the way that vested interests have corrupted debate and stifled the truth: greenpeace.org.au/wp/wp-content/…

Outside the Australian government’s general failure to act on climate change, the most recent blatant example of the Fossil Fuel Order's influence has been spruiking new investment in climate-wrecking gas is an appropriate step forward post-covid for our economy.

The body tasked with planning our economic bounce-back from Covid-19, was stacked with gas industry executives on its creation.
No surprises when the plan for Australia’s future that came out of the group focused on - you guessed it - gas: abc.net.au/news/2020-05-2…

Morrison admitted that his planning was influenced by a private meeting with a Saudi Aramco board member, who “sat down with me at Kirribilli” and said if “you want to change manufacturing in this country, you’ve got to deal with gas,”
pm.gov.au/media/national…

Connections between NCC members and companies with key interests in climate-wrecking projects like the controversial Narrabri coal seam gas project have been exposed:
theguardian.com/business/2020/…

And so we end up with a small group of people with deeply-rooted vested interests in the fossil fuel sector, who are Morrison’s corporate advisers, are pushing for fossil fuel subsidies and new projects as a lifeline:
theguardian.com/australia-news…

The NCC's final report, which recommended Australian taxpayers underwrite the expansion of the gas industry, did not mention climate change or the financial risk of investing in fossil fuels when the rest of the world is moving on fast:
theguardian.com/environment/20…

A key outcome from this was the federal government announcement of a $600 million taxpayer funded gas-fired power station in the Hunter, despite experts and commentators noting it was entirely unnecessary and made no commercial sense:
theguardian.com/environment/20…

Noteworthy that the Kurri Kurri site set for the gas-burning station was bought in 2020 by major Liberal Party donor John McCloy, who last night featured in #bigdealAU talking about his successful influencing of government policy.
crikey.com.au/2021/05/19/kur…

There is a long, long list of examples of fossil fuel tendrils finding their way to power. Perversely, earlier this year former Origin CEO & clean-energy critic Grant King was appointed head of Australia’s Climate Change Authority:
smh.com.au/environment/cl…

The @IEA has said point-blank that a net zero path means no new coal, oil or gas projects. This is entirely at odds with the Australian government, including the leaked ‘net zero plan’ yesterday that included increasing gas exports: iea.org/reports/net-ze…

Earlier this year, a new report highlighted fossil fuel subsidies cost roughly $10.3 billion in FY2020/21 - that’s $19 686 a minute - plus $1.2 billion in contributions to reduce the costs of exploration, research & supporting infrastructure:
abc.net.au/news/2021-04-2…

There are also extensive funding allocations through research & development tax credits, a near-invisible method of support, which has largely gone into phantom technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage:
theconversation.com/australias-gov…

Appallingly, Australia’s financial support for fossil fuels has increased by 48% in the five years from 2015-2019 - the worst increase in fossil fuel subsidies among all G20 nations.
about.bnef.com/blog/new-repor…

The influence of this shadowy network of the Fossil Fuel Order is why we remain ranked dead last out of 170 countries on climate action by the UN.
washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/…

The network of influence is also why, despite constantly increasing ambition from our global allies, and our kids depending on us to provide a safer world, the Australian government remains stubbornly opposed to any meaningful climate policy.

Renewables backed by batteries are now the cheapest, most reliable form of energy. Australia is uniquely placed to become a clean energy superpower with booming regional economies and exports. We just need to be freed from the shackles of vested interests. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

So, if you’ve spent the last few weeks (or longer) wondering why Australian leaders continue to drag their feet on climate action despite global urgency, apply the same thinking as #bigdealAU - follow the dollars and the power of the Fossil Fuel Order. #auspol

@MakeItABigDeal @ChristiaanVanV @craigreucassel - thanks for your work on this. So critical to bring out of the shadows and into the public eye. #auspol #BigDealAU