Matt Ryan

Publication day! Here I try to figure out what the ALP is up to with climate and energy. I argue by relying on private capital to build out its "transition", the Albanese gvt will ultimately fail to decarbonise. Open access! No paywall! @ausjpolsci.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

www.crikey.com.au/2026/10/22/u...

I've been hanging out for this. Is it too early to say this will be the book of the decade?

Alan Finkel is such a fucking idiot. The man is intellectually outclassed by a not-very-bright newt. He fundamentally does not understand at least 60% of the issues he talks about. "I was Chief Scientist. Why are you giving me column inches to discuss a topic I have no understanding of?"

"this new form of denialism has our political leaders assuring us they understand and accept the warnings about climate change — but they are in denial about what this scientific reality means for policy..." This applies in Australia too. The ALP are climate deniers.

Thank goodness for @jimbostanford.bsky.social . Maybe we shouldn't celebrate a banker, just cause he isn't orange?

“The approval of the HVO mine continuing is not just another climate failure among many. It is the failure that finally broke my faith in the capacity of public institutions to serve the public interest.” The brilliant George Woods www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

2026 folks! A good reminder that coal wont die all by itself (which is an alarmingly common view, even in the climate movement).

Remember the random dude who got 49020939 articles of uncritical media coverage in the space of two days because he quit anthropic based on his fears of existential AI risk? Yeah..........he's a climate denier. So is the whole AI industry. www.crikey.com.au/2026/09/22/a...

We (rightly) talk a lot about gas, but we should not forget we export a hell of a lot more coal and most of it is for burning for electricity rather than being used to produce steel. And all of it destroys the planet. #NoNewMines

I first realised there was a problem with coal productivity when looking at diesel consumption, which is up about 70% per saleable tonne https://reneweconomy.com.au/productivity-has-been-weak-mining-and-construction-are-the-main-culprits-just-look-at-diesel-and-lng/

New Intergenerational Report from the Australian government thinks disaster funding will just be a nice smooth requirement into the future with only a small difference between "paris aligned" [code for 1.5C, which we know will be exceeded already] and "more than 3C" which would be catastropic. !WTF!

“It’s an extremely challenging task. The rate of renewable energy rollout that is now required to hit that target is unbelievable” As in, not believable. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Did you know that Woodside's Browse gas project – starting in the early 2030s at the soonest – will likely get to pretend that it has always existed under Australia's climate pollution laws in order to avoid laws specifically put in place to hold that project to a higher standard? Now you do!

Fri 11 Sep Labor & nature market-friendly ENGOs celebrate successful standover that's delivered the fossil fuel-perpetuating Improved Native Forest Mgt ACCU method Govts remain in the grip of fossil fuels while forests around the 🌏 are already showing pervasive 📈 tree mortality fr climate warming

It's Threatened Species Day 96% of 🇦🇺s surveyed want more action to care for nature But enviro funding's set to decline from an already paltry 0.06% of the federal budget for on-ground nature programs to <0.04% in 2028-29 Years spent on nature market policy; 2 projs registered; 0 certs issued

FYI, the fossil fuel lobby is just stating it all pretty plainly

7.3% plus 0% plus 0% plus 0% does not add up to 100%. This promise has not just been broken, it has been shattered, stomped on and kicked into the corner. Something has gone very wrong when government policy can't rise high enough to meet a bar this low. You can read about it here:

Such important analysis from @timinclimate.naruresearch.com.au . Completely ignoring the Pepper inquiry. The amazing thing is how long that kept up the charade of following the full offsetting recommendation.

Heatstroke is terrifying “There are people that, unfortunately, barely survive heat stroke and then they’re paralyzed or disabled for the rest of their life,”

I've spent more than a decade studying climate and the economy in Australia. So I say with some authority that @firstdogonthemoon.bsky.social is always right. I hope Madeleine King is looking forward to her retirement as a gas lobbyist.

Opening the Beetaloo as the Himalaya melts and the NA/Europe burns. ALP and CLP coming together to open a massive new gas field. If you're not f*cking angry, you should be

Wanna see something cool? I just updated my chart showing Australia's total climate pollution, comparing our fossil fuel exports against our net emissions at home. Anyway it's a bit bleak.

This is, in technical terms, "not good".

Private actors are increasing their control over the essentials of life in energy, fuel, housing, food, healthcare & education. They drive inflation & drag down living standards. We need price controls & more public delivery to protect Australia from inflation & profiteering. My op-ed with SMH.

New in @ausjpolsci.bsky.social: Real domestic emissions barely moved in Labor’s first term. Matthew Ryan argues the ALP’s climate approach is a Faustian bargain with private capital — and its ‘tactical fatalism’ on fossil fuels is driving us deeper into overshoot. doi.org/10.1080/1036...

The #mining industry is burning even more diesel for the same amount of production as they have to dig digger for hard to cut coal, and lack of action on #electric options.

"This budget is ... a government just waiting for things to return to “normal”... The only responsible action for a government is to ... protect citizens from the impending chaos of fossil fuel collapse." This budget is silent on climate. As Joshi puts it elsewhere, this is "tactical fatalism".

There is no combination of magic words that will convince large segments of capital to be ok with decarbonizing the U.S. economy!

No surprises here: the Business Council of Australia pushes back at data centres being regulated to cover climate pollution, and instead calls for increased use of high-polluting fossil gas at data centre projects instead. Much more from me, coming soon.. www.theaustralian.com.au/business/ren...

100 episodes of After America. It's been quite a journey. @emmashortis.bsky.social australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-uni...

READ THIS! Brilliant writing from a fantastic person, one @natashaheenan.bsky.social. Well worth the subscription to the exciting new @the-breakdown.bsky.social journal. There is so much writing on the climate - but Tash really challenges me think differently. www.break-down.org/producing-th...

Must read by @danielagabor.bsky.social @benbraun.eurosky.social "This, we argue, is the pathway for the Santa Marta countries to achieve the decarbonized sovereignty imperative—the strategic pursuit of decarbonization as a matter of national security" www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aga...

Bad news alert! Just when you thought things couldnt get worse, the Minns NSW govt opens up far west NSW to fracking. There is *no case* for this, beyond private profiteering. The good news is that we wont take this lying down. www.resources.nsw.gov.au/sites/defaul...

"To find optimism in geopolitical rivalry is to place one’s faith in abstract forces rather than human beings. It is, in this sense, a kind of pessimism." New from Casey A. Williams, on why the renewable boost driven by war in Iran may not be cause for optimism. www.break-down.org/why-climate-...

A Scott Morrison-era university policy is likely worsening Australia's skills shortages, with poorer students not choosing different degrees but deciding to forgo university entirely. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/16/s...

"If you had told me that in 2026, almost four years into the life of a Labor government, JRG would still be firmly in place, I would not have believed you." I thought @frankbongiorno.bsky.social never missed! Well he doesnt here. JRG @jasonclaremp.bsky.social? insidestory.org.au/the-preserva...

Happy #PiDay! Here are some pies to consider: If nothing changes, the remaining carbon budget to stay under 1.5°C, 1.7°C, and 2°C will be used up in 4, 12, and 25 years, respectively. Let’s eat up by setting all the fossil fuels on fire.

Opinion | Writing exclusively for Crikey, Grace Tame reflects on the prime minister calling her "difficult", the media storm following her pro-Palestine chant, and which social causes do and don't ignite public support. www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/g...

"It isn’t a stretch to claim, as Malm and Carton do, that an actual energy transition—of the sort that Fressoz shows has never occurred—would challenge the basic power structures of global capitalism and geopolitics." Excellent review with far-reaching implications from @triofrancos.bsky.social

Not only does the Australian Government give Japanese gas export giant Inpex all the gas it exports from Darwin FOR FREE, and lets them pay virtually no tax... Inpex "systematically underestimated' by 40X leaks of cancer causing benzene near Darwin. Consequences? www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

I cannot ever stop tearing my hair out about climate activists being labelled 'unrealistic' when the fossil fuel business bros persistently do shit like this www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

It never ceases to confound me just how many folks think the point of essays is to provide teachers with essays. That teachers just like, collect them, or need them for sustenance or something. Rather than the point of them being the *actual fucking act of learning how to think about shit*