Let Me Sum Up

FLAMING HOT news out of Victoria – the State Government’s announcement of a ban on planning permits for gas connections to new homes from 1 Jan 2024 – had your intrepid hosts speculating on whether this is indeed the beginning of the end for domestic gas use in Australia. A big call but consensus was that this is an inflection point! And that wasn’t the only news to share with our Summeruppers thi...

In this week’s very special episode, your intrepid hosts eschew the usual compilation of current climate affairs (it’s not like much is happening anyway) and jump into the LMSU DeLorean to time warp our way back to 1965 USA where the ties are paisley, the clothes psychedelically tie-dyed and the climate science prescient (albeit mostly being done by a bunch of white guys). For this week’s paper we...

We start this week’s show with Tennant taking on tech titan Elon Musk by combining his two great two loves in SPREADSHEETS and SPACE to cast some serious shade on Musk’s plans around Mars colonisation, with hot takes on implications for Hydrogen along the way. Your intrepid hosts also revisit the latest quarterly update from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Dec 2022 and try as Frankie mig...

Summerupperers, it’s our birrrrtthday and we want to say a giant THANK YOU for listening this past year we’ve been in your ears! You're the reason we started this crazy podcasting adventure - we wanted to create a supportive space for all the climate professionals out there who pour so much of themselves into their work and passion for climate action, and it’s been a genuine delight to meet many o...

Is the recently announced Australia-US Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact going to mean Australia gets to ride the wave of the subsidy superbonanza Inflation Reduction Act rather than get dumped by it? Perhaps too soon to tell , but your intrepid hosts can always be relied on for a hot take!  *Shirtfranking with Frontie* includes a PSA for the very excellent app for...

Jump into the LMSU DeLorean for a trip back in time to an episode recorded before our recent Budget Spectacular. With the power vested in him as LMSU Global Vice President for editing the show, Luke has wisely excised budget predictions but kept our then hot (now only slightly warm) takes on Australia's new National Net Zero Authority . This is but a pit stop on the path to the true focus of the o...

We interrupt regularly scheduled programming of your fortnightly 45-min (you laugh, but we actually managed it this time!) deep dive into climate and energy papers of note to bring you LMSU’s 2023-24 Budget Spectacular! That’s right! Strap in Summerupperers, your intrepid hosts are coming in hot with takes on the climate and energy-related budget announcements from the Albanese Government’s second...

Hands up who wants Tennant to complete his rewording of ‘We didn’t start the fire’ for the pod?!  Now that you’ve had the taste of Billy Joel-goes LMSU you didn’t know you needed in your lives, your intrepid hosts weigh into the week’s developments by zeroing in on the government’s release of their electric vehicle strategy . Overhyped? Perhaps, but while there are a lot of familiar things on the...

This week’s episode is one we prepared earlier (26 March 2023 to be exact) which means past us have just found out that Labor won the NSW election, and we don’t yet know the Safeguard Mechanism reforms are destined to pass Parliament with Greens support.  Slightly confusing, but bear with us as we forge ahead, titillating and teasing our dear Summeruperers with the promise of Tennant’s t-shirt des...

Completing our triumphant trilogy* of trilogues** on the Safeguard Mechanism, we’re back and it’s Safe Guard With a Vengeance! That’s right, we’re bringing you a special Rapid Response to Developments as the Safeguard(s?) reforms make their way through the Parliament following the Albanese Government’s deal with the Australian Greens . And if it wasn’t already Christmas come early for you crazy cl...

Your intrepid hosts start this week’s rollicking rollercoaster by recounting the annual rending of clothes and gnashing of teeth that arises from AEMO’s Gas Statement of Opportunities , affectionately(?) known as the GSOO! How worried should we be about the market operator’s forecast on next year’s demand and longer term outlook on the supply of fossil gas? You may be shocked that there were diffe...

Frankie and Tennant start the pod by making Luke jealous for missing their serendipitous Sydney airport rendez-vous late on a Monday evening before reflecting on the quality of T Reed’s ties and pivoting to the IRApocalyse we find ourselves in? Your intrepid hosts discuss whether, as some are contending , the IRA will eat Australia’s renewable hydrogen lunch. With serious subsidies flowing in the...

What would Bing’s chatbot make of your intrepid hosts’ attempts to achieve the elusive 45 minute podcast we promised our Summeruperers all that time ago? As T Reed conjures increasingly elaborate powerpoints that (so far) have failed to keep us in line, we’ve decided to stick with Clippy for fear of Bing chatbot seeking to turn us against each other Yoko Ono style and breaking up the pod. Welcome...

Weeeeee’re baaaack! Miss us? A very happy 2023 to you Summerupperers, we hope you all had a fabulous break and respite from reading ALL the climate and energy papers. And as we kick things off in the new year, the landscape is serene and quiet, not a climate paper or consultation in sight… *jokes* *trigger warning* Before diving into our double header, we note some early success for Tennant’s weir...

In this EXTRA SPECIAL HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR your intrepid hosts eschew the normal dissection of climate and energy reports and instead, in an exercise of regrettable democratic process, critique a climate movie of YOUR choice, dear Summerupperers. But before we do that, we kick off with the inaugural awarding of our favourite climate and energy paper of 2022. This award, which most-definitely-will-n...

Perhaps for the final time in 2022 your intrepid hosts reconvene ENERGY CRISIS CORNER. Why you might ask? Only: the spectacular recall of the Federal Parliament to pass legislation on a price cap for wholesale gas for the next year, $3bn in bill relief for vulnerable Australians to be jointly paid by the Commonwealth and the states, price caps on coal to be enacted by the states AND somewhere in t...

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!