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Let Me Sum Up

Tennant Reed, Luke Menzel, Frankie Muskovic
Let Me Sum Up
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  • We, The Climate Wonks Of Asia, In Order To Form A More Perfect CBAM...
    Frankie has a new (day) job! She’s heading to the Investor Group on Climate Change after more than nine years at the Property Council and is going to apply those well-honed extortion skills to the entire net zero transition!Your intrepid hosts are excited about electrifying all the things this week with big electrification policies landing in both Victoria and City of Sydney. The much anticipated next tranche of Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap agenda is finally here with the Allan Government launching a bold package of reforms. Gas hot water heaters? Out. Minimum energy efficiency rental standards? In! All-electric new builds? Absolutely. The City of Sydney is also joining the electrification party and banning gas in new residential buildings from the end of 2025, with more work on commercial buildings to come. Chris Minns calls “overreach” but we reckon this is the beginning of the end for gas use in buildings! Our main courseHave Australian CBAM enthusiasts been dreaming too small? Is an Asian CBAM the secret sauce for clean trade in our region? Have Frankie and Luke now read enough CBAM papers to level up and get a CBAM merit badge? Tennant licks his lips as your intrepid hosts devour a new report from Climate Energy Finance, ‘A Price On Carbon: Building Towards an Asian CBAM’. While this wasn’t necessarily the CBAM paper we were looking for, authors Matt Pollard and Tim Buckley make carbon pricing padawans of us all - and maybe all those DFAT folks who need to use the force to sell this idea - and give us the basic commands for a future Asian CBAM. We’re signing up for the advanced class please! (That means we’d like another paper on what next, kthxbye).Listener VoicemailSummerupperer Rob Law asks why “energy sufficiency” isn’t a thing in Australia? We venture thoughts on branding, culture, and an abundance obsession? Also, Frankie wants sufficiency-themed papers and T-shirts!One more thingsFrankie’s One More Thing is: a big hearty thank you to Australia’s outgoing climate change ambassador, Kristin Tilley. The LMSU crew salute her deft diplomacy and work to build closer relationships with our Pacific neighbours. She’s off to sort out the WTO in Geneva, bon voyage and best of luck!Tennant’s One More Thing is: an appeal for sanity as US politics watchers boggle at discussion of a proposed tax on domestic clean energy. Tennant’s therapy suggestion? Shout “stop being crazy!” loudly for 30 seconds. It worked for him in recent role playing adventures of Arkham Sanitarium at a Call of Cthulhu RPG convention. Seems as likely as anything else to work for snapping the US Congress out of it.Luke’s One More Thing is: his recent forays over on the First Fuel podcast feed, talking energy governance reform with Rob Murray-Leach and COP31 with Chris Bowen.And that’s it for this week, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net for merch, back episodes, and your chance to leave us a voicemail!
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  • Notorious RBD Vs (Too Much) RAB
    Support us on Patreon and grab some merchThe merch is flying off the shelves (and into Summerupperer mailboxes near and far!). The website is live (and functional!) and the bonus episodes are tastier than Tennant’s home baked maruspice cookies. Join the Super Summerupperer secret society at www.letmesumup.net and click “Support LMSU” to get your fortnightly BoCo fix. Because THERE. IS. (STILL). TOO. MUCH.—This week your intrepid hosts are joined by newly minted Grattan Institute Energy & Climate Program *Director* Alison Reeve to unpack the Productivity Commission’s climate musings and a spicy new paper from Dr. Ron Ben-David that dares to ask: that gas network RAB is kind of annoying... what if we just sold it?But first... are the folks at the PC drinking the Abundance KoolAid? Investing in Cheaper, Cleaner Energy and the Net Zero Transformation is one of five pillars the PC is working on to inform the Treasurer’s upcoming and very exclusive ROUNDTABLE lock-up/love-in on productivity. What’s on the menu? Reducing the cost of meeting carbon targets, speeding up energy infrastructure approvals and unlocking private investment in adaptation. Frankie smells a Cabinet book club. Alison wants to know why we’re not talking about construction productivity across sectors. All of us want more than vibes and vertical silos but agreed giving adaptation some love is overdue!Our main courseIf the Gas RAB is a 500 lb gorilla and is in desperate need of slimming down, who’s paying the bills for Ozempic? In his paper ‘The 500 lb gorilla of the gas transition, or: Confronting the regulatory asset base (RAB) problem’, Ron Ben-David proposes a bold fix for the gas death spiral with his characteristic panache: Revalue the gas RAB every five years, carve off the stranded value into a new financial asset (opening up an exciting branding opportunity – Delta Assets RAB Bucks, or RABcoin - take your pick!) and then auction it off. Is this Saving consumers by slugging (the same) consumers? Tennant reckons financialisation would lead to better transparency. Frankie suggests networks surely can’t have their cake and eat it too. Alison thinks it’s brilliantly clever, but who’s buying? Luke declares it’s so confusing and opaque, it just might work!One more thingsAlison’s One More Thing is: A very happy anniversary to the RET, whose legislation was introduced to Parliament on 22 June 2000. Little did they know that 9500 GWh would lead to so much more…Tennant’s One More Thing is: a li’l bright spot in the USA, where Fervo Energy is making geothermal advances galore. Watch this space!Frankie’s One More Thing is: The Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is here! Congrats to the ASFI team for launching this important work.Luke’s One More Thing is: Hugh White’s new Quarterly Essay, Hard New World: Our Post American Future. That’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to www.letmesumup.net for merch, back episodes, and your chance to leave us a voicemail. And remember: if you’re not wearing your LMSU tee while listening to us talk about LMSU tees, are you even summing it up?
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  • Abundance: A Zippy 40 Year Ride On Procedural Liberalism’s Fast Train To Nowhere
    It’s hard to believe your intrepid hosts birthed this little pod into the world a whole three years ago, but here we are! Still readin’ papers, still summing em’ up for YOU, our amazing Summerupperers!And to mark the occasion, we are celebrating with a triple scoop of gas policy, political philisophy and pod merch madness! That’s right, we’re SHIRTFRONTING the lot of you! After far, far too many ‘Shirtfronting with Frankie’ segments, Team LMSU is delighted to offer our very own a la carte merch menu! T-shirts and tote bags and mugs, oh my! All brought to you via our brand-spanking-new website glow-up at www.letmesumup.net! There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: listen to the pod, leave us a voicemail, support us on Patreon and deck yourself out in LMSU’s finest. Run, don’t walk over to www.letmesumup.net.—Gas, gas, gas! After Frankie’s extended victory lap post winning the longest-running, slowest-moving merch race around, we talk gas. SO MUCH gas. First, Woodside’s North West Shelf gets the green light to operate until 2070 from incoming Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt. Cue despair from climate advocates and a 600-page consultant report that may or may not be acid rainwashing ancient rock art. But while this decision went Woodside's way, gas market fundamentals may not be so kind; keeping this facility pumping beyond the early 2030s will require opening up the Browse Basin, and there are big question marks over the fundamental economics. There is some great analysis on this around if you look for it, not least from IEEFA's Joshua Runciman, which we highly recommend!Next, a decision from the Victorian Government to approve Viva’s construction of an LNG Import Terminal in Geelong. Magic gas ships? A lesser of three evils? Who woulda thunk it! Stranded assets are so 2022. Lots of complexity to unpack in these decisions, and we have our usual abundance of thoughts!Our main courseEver hungry for new feasts of ideas, your intrepid hosts were not content to blow out the candles at this birthday party with a mere paper, oh no! We gifted ourselves an abundance of anecdotes - and maybe a famine of fixes - devouring the infamous book doing the rounds in US liberal politics circles, “Abundance” by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein. This pro-growth, anti-red tape manifesto is a 'ripper' according to Jim Chalmers and will clearly be doing the rounds in Australian political circles, but what do your intrepid hosts make of it all? A provocation for a “liberalism that builds”, the challenges in housing, health, energy and infrastructure all feel familiar. For these three policy wonks, we would have really liked a list, not just a lens! Lots to digest, provocations and limitations but ultimately food for Australian thought.One more thingsOur collective One More Thing is a massive thanks to YOU, our delightful Summerupperers! We continue to love doing the pod, getting to spend time with each other and meeting so many of you, out in the world! Our gift to you (and ourselves really, who’s kidding) is the fully operational climate nerd command center that is www.letmesumup.net. Listen to episodes, shop the merch, leave us a voicemail, or just marvel at the fact that we finally have an About page!And that’s all from us this week Summerupperers! Leave us a voicemail with your hot tips and suggestions for papers, and while you’re at it, grab an LMSU T-shirt, mug or tote at letmesumup.net.
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  • “Unlimited Power!!!” Cackle Energy Wonks Calculating Australia’s Clean Trade Opportunity
    Support us on Patreon... Team LMSU are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Every fortnight, the day after a regular episode drops, there will be a delicious, subscriber only BoCo episode. Because, THERE IS TOO MUCH! This week we are taking stock of post-election shenanigans and implications for climate policies. Run, don’t walk over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.—It took something majorly main course to distract your entrepid hosts from microwaving some more post-election popcorn (never fear, this week’s BoCo episode for Patreon subscribers will provide your fix). To detoxing from domestic politics we read this excellent analysis from Lauri Myllyvirta for Carbon Brief suggesting China’s emissions may have peaked! Despite previous drops in emissions being linked to economic downturns, this time new installed renewable generation outpaced energy demand growth and displaced coal. What a delightful palate cleanser!Our main paper“Unlimited Power!!!” cackled your intrepid hosts as we imbibed this week’s paper, The New Energy Trade: harnessing Australian renewables for global development from Reuben Finighan at the Superpower Institute. This cracker of a report had us stroking chins, making plans for world domination and tallying the BAGILLION dollars in export value from Australia’s potential as a global leader in the ‘superpower trade’. This paper was methodical and compelling in fleshing out Ross Garnaut’s vision of Australia as a renewable energy superpower - and what a huge juicy prize to be won! We recommend sampling the summary report for super curious Summerupperers.One more thingsTennant’s One More Thing is: The Victorian Transmission Plan, 2025 edition, Draft for ConsultationFrankie’s One More Thing is: the PC rolling up its sleeves and speeding up approvals for new energy infra, encouraging private investment in adaptation, and reducing the cost of meeting carbon targets are in its sights!Luke’s One More Thing is: putting listeners on notice for LMSU’s first book club episode! That’s right, we’re going to read (or perhaps listen) to Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's provocative 'less regulation may be better for the environment' bestseller Abundance, and sum it up sometime soon. Get reading folks!And that’s all from us Summerupperers! Send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at [email protected] and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.
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  • There Is Too Much: The Federal Election's Impact On Climate And Energy Policy
    Usually our Bonus Content is behind the paywall, but this week we're getting the Blue Screen Of Death from Apple Podcasts (somewhat ironic) and they won't let us post the show! So while we are on hold with IT, we're posting this week's bonus episode in the main feed so that A. those of you that are subscribed in Apple Podcasts get the ep. and B. those of you that aren't get a taste of that sweet, sweet BoCo we're rolling out every fortnight. Because once you go BoCo you don't go back! Join the cool kids over at https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp (or Apple Podcasts – our call is valuable to them and they will be with us shortly, so we should be back in action next week).--THIS WEEK ON THERE IS TOO MUCH:Beyond the big picture politics, there are a myriad of specific climate and energy policies that will be profoundly impacted by the election result on the weekend. We wade into the weeds and give you the hottest of hot takes.
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About Let Me Sum Up

Your regular deep dive into recent reports on climate and energy with Frankie Muskovic, Luke Menzel and Tennant Reed. Because there is too much.
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