Let Me Sum Up

Recovered from epic Egyptian adventures your intrepid hosts begin by revisiting the final outcomes of the formal negotiations at COP27. That’s not the only thing we revisited though! This video of Tennant’s Beat Saber antics in the ruins of the Australia pavilion as he and Luke waited until the bitter end of COP is well worth a watch. You’re welcome ;-) This week we unpack the Albanese Government’...

Recorded on the ground in Sharm El-Sheikh as negotiations got to the pointy end of things at COP27, your intrepid hosts ditch the usual format in this very special episode of Let Me Sum Up. Listen in as we dive into all things COP27: the hot button issues in the negotiations, the vibe on the ground and around the pavilions, Team Australia’s presence at this COP (coffee diplomacy included) as well...

In this short bonus episode your intrepid hosts are joined by CEO of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Darren Miller to unpack the latest from COP27 in Egypt. You will learn of Darren's heroics in the Australia Pavilion, why there is 'no way' negotiations will be done by Friday, and hear our hosts react to the unexpected appearance of a certain US Climate Envoy in the Bedouin Tent. There is...

In a tantalising pre-COP27 gathering your intrepid hosts start by dissecting the implications of the Australian Government's commitment to sign up to the Global Methane Pledge. An initiative spear-headed by the EU and US ahead of COP26, the pledge requires signatories to commit to cutting methane emissions 30% on 2020 levels by 2030. More seaweed coming to a trough near your friendly neighbourhood...

In this short bonus episode, your intrepid hosts reveal they are all going to COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.  They also speculate on the possibility of Let Me Sum Up Live from Sharm – an event which is in no way organised, but if you will it dude, it is no dream...

This week your intrepid hosts recapped some BIG news out of Victoria with the announcement of new emissions reduction targets - 75% to 80% (on 2005 levels) by 2035, net zero by 2045 and a renewable electricity target of 95% by 2035. Wowser! The first government in Australia to formalise a 2035 target which has significant implications for the decarbonisation of fossil gas during that timeframe des...

This week in our tenth episode (woot!) your intrepid hosts reconvene ENERGY CRISIS CORNER and oh boy there was no shortage of fodder for us to traverse. From the UK where gas reserves are low but the hubris is high and they’ll be capping energy bills and paying people to use less at peak times, to our French friends who’ve coined the best moniker for their efforts in La Sobriete Energetique (Energ...

This week your intrepid hosts recap some listener mail from friend of the pod, Dylan McConnell, who boldly contends that some of our critiques on IAMs could be appropriately directed closer to home at the ISP.  Also Dylan earns mega bonus points by renaming the ISP as our very own energy system HEGELIAN DIALECTIC. If we called it that we might get even less focus on the process because shiny hegel...

In this short bonus episode, your intrepid hosts make a series of increasingly aggressive pitches for the pod, and finally explain Frankie's official LMSU job title. Remember to rate, review, like and subscribe 😉  We'll be back with a full episode next week! 

Your intrepid hosts failed to start a flame war with friends of the pod over the relative merits of IAMs so we were forced  to reconvene ENERGY CRISIS CORNER. And wowser, the past week has provided plenty of fodder there! We recap Russia’s brinkmanship on threatening to cut off gas supply to Europe altogether, triggering an emergency meeting of EU energy ministers last Friday at which several poli...

This week your intrepid hosts return some friendly fire from esteemed peer and friend of the pod Erwin Jackson! Despite Erwin’s commentary on the positive role IAMs have played aligning the finance sector around rallying support for a 1.5C scenario, one currently immuno-compromised T. Reed refused to de-escalate and doubled down on the critique. Frankie weighed in on guard rails and it all went so...

This week your intrepid hosts cast their attention abroad to the historic passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the $370 Bn odd of investment into climate action it contains. Now just waiting for the stroke of Joe Biden’s many pens, this will be a relief for many Democrats seeking re-election in the upcoming midterms. For our deep dive report we go FULL METAL WONK and attempt to ave...

This week your intrepid hosts braved some interstate travel craziness (the things we do for you) and came together IN 3D REAL LIFE AND EVERYTHING to bring you this pod from Wurundjeri land. We have been loving the energy twitterati folks having at our ISP episode and in response to our follow up question “ what would you want to see in a supercharged ISP ?” we received plenty of excellent fodder f...

In this episode your intrepid hosts recap listener feedback say WHAAAAT! While basking in the glow of our dear listeners – proving both their existence AND interest in our musings – we: do a combined shout out to Laura Hamilton O'Hara at Living Future Institute of Australia for letting us know their Declare Material transparency label has recently expanded to include embodied carbon , as well as t...

In this timeless episode (recorded before Luke and Frankie departed for Europe on an energy efficiency delegation) your intrepid hosts crack out the crystal ball to make wild predictions on what those occupied in ENERGY CRISIS CORNER might be concerned with by the time the episode is live. Energy is still expensive! We are all in an Antopocalypse under the totalitarian Antonese regime! Wait, what?...

In this episode, your intrepid hosts reconvene ENERGY CRISIS CORNER where the landscape is hellish but the feeling between energy ministers is decidedly warm and fuzzy following their get together and commitment to a host of sensible things (at the time of recording, AEMO had not yet suspended the NEM wholesale spot market for the first time ever, *wowsers*). After Tennant laments a bad week for C...

Our very first episode of Let Me Sum Up is here and so is Australia's energy apocalypse (remember, correlation is not causation, folks). Your intrepid hosts open by surveying the challenging conditions facing households, businesses and policymakers as electricity and gas prices hit historic highs. After a brief detour into just how late to the ball 'energy efficiency Cinderella' can afford to be,...

This is the trailer for Let Me Sum Up, your regular deep dive on recent reports on climate and energy. Every fortnight energy and climate wonks Frankie Muskovic, Tennant Reed and Luke Menzel will read a report on climate and energy, then talk about it.  They'll also talk about other stuff, often (but not always) energy and climate related! Send us your hot tips and suggestions for papers we should...