Is Australia the new Russia?

The opportunity is real!

Germany’s economy is strongly dependent on Russian fossil fuels.

This then puts Germany in a difficult political and economical situation. On one hand, Germany needs Russian oil and gas. On the other hand, Germany is strongly disagreeing with Russia’s action in Ukraine. But this is not only the problem in Europe.

As Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) writes “More than two-thirds of the EU’s energy imports in 2020 were petroleum products, followed by gas (about a quarter) and coal (less than 5%). Russia was the main extra-EU supplier in all three categories (25.5% petroleum, 43.9% gas, and 54% solid fossil fuels), followed by Norway for natural gas and the U.S. for crude oil.”

This economic dependence on Russian energy costs the EU, and in particular, Germany, its democratic integrity.

Is Australia the solution?

Andrew Forrest has struck a potential $50 billion green hydrogen agreement with the German energy giant in March 2022. Andrew Forrest says, “We have enough energy in Australia from a tiny, tiny fraction of our landmass to power all the world.”

What does Forrest mean by “tiny”?

Just 4% of destroyed bushfire area from 2019-20 is sufficient to cover Australia’s entire energy needs with existing solar power technology. Australia could easily cover the entire Russian energy supply to the EU. The biggest challenge would be the transport from Down Under. But the EU is not the only region that needs clean energy.

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Singapore will be powered by the project ‘Sun Cable’. Here’s a glimpse of the potential and opportunities. Link: https://youtu.be/z4oOGUyAEOM

Australia is not at the forefront of fighting climate change, is constantly criticized, and is ranked last out of 64 countries.

I believe due to the massive opportunity, Australia will soon be leading in the first third of these 64 countries. Not because of the political will, but because of the commercial common sense. Businesses and people will choose climate-friendly options if they could make money from it. If Australia would invest in a tiny, tiny piece of land, Australia could become the biggest green energy exporter in the world by 2030.

Is Australia the new Russia?