Energy Minister Chris Bowen has boasted to his global counterparts at an international climate event that Australians will soon receive three free hours of power. Mr Bowen delivered an opening address at the Bonn Intercessional climate negotiations in Germany ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP 31) later this year.
He told his counterparts Australia's energy transition would 'soon' bear fruit in the form of free energy for consumers. 'In Australia, we have so much solar energy that we will soon be offering households three hours of free power in the middle of the day,' he said. 'In a world of geopolitical uncertainty and energy disruption, the transition is not a risk. It is the solution and an immense opportunity.'
He said renewables would protect economies from supply shocks, as choking of the Strait of Hormuz keeps oil prices elevated. 'The fragility of fossil fuel supply chains makes this case even more compelling,' he said in Bonn on Monday (local time). 'Solar energy must travel 150 million kilometres from the Sun to Earth, but it does not have to travel the 150 kilometres through the Strait of Hormuz. The wind cannot be sanctioned. Hydro energy cannot be blockaded. More clean energy. More electrification. Less dependence on fossil fuels. More energy sovereignty and reliability. Lower emissions.'
It comes as Australia's energy prices remain elevated despite the government's previous election promises of dramatically decreased power bills. The government argues further electrification of the grid will reduce those bills in the long run. The Coalition claims Mr Bowen has sold voters an impossible 'green dream'.
Mr Bowen stuck to his battle lines at the conference, saying renewable energy was the 'cheapest form of power available' at the negotiations. He also touted Australia's home battery take-up following reports the government scheme encouraging it had blown out in cost. 'Since the Paris Agreement, the renewables share of global energy has more than tripled. There has been a 20-fold leap in global battery installations in the past 5 years,' he said. 'In Australia, 430,000 households have installed a household battery in the last 12 months.'
UN climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell agreed with Mr Bowen in his own speech. 'Continuing our fossil fuel dependency means continuing to import inflation and economic instability, while exporting energy security, sovereignty and policy autonomy, leaving economies and communities exposed to climate disasters, taking a wrecking ball to lives and prosperity everywhere,' he said.
The key mid-year negotiation session precedes the larger COP31 later in the year. In Bonn, Mr Bowen is expected to hold talks with Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea. He will push for further cooperation on electrification, clean energy investment, fuel security and energy storage, his department said.
The Climate Change Minister cancelled a trip to the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in April. That cancellation came against the backdrop of soaring domestic fuel prices emanating from the global oil shock. He visited Copenhagen, Denmark, last month, however, for the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial. His engagements drew criticism from the Coalition who have labelled him a 'part-time' energy minister.
Mr Bowen will also serve as president of negotiations at this year's COP summit. Last month, the energy department's half-million-dollar spend on pre-COP arrangements saw Mr Tehan say 'no business class lounge' was safe from Mr Bowen's 'roving squad' of employees either. Mr Bowen labelled his foe the 'biggest hypocrite' in the federal parliament in response.
Australia and Turkey split up COP responsibilities and Pacific partners will host preliminary events this year. Fiji and Tuvalu will play host to pre-COP meetings before Turkey hosts the world COP31 and World Leaders Summit. The central summit is to be held in Antalya, Turkey.
At the end of May data showed Australia's CO2 emissions had dropped by more than 9.7 million tonnes over the course of last year. The Quarterly Update on Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory showed emissions for the year to December 2025 were 2.1 per cent lower than the previous year. 'With over 4 million household solar systems and more than 400,000 home batteries supported by our Cheaper Home Batteries Program, we're seeing the results of consistent and considerable cuts in electricity grid emissions,' Mr Bowen said of the results in May.
