Podcast
Let Me Sum Up
Hosted by Tennant Reed, Luke Menzel, Frankie Muskovic · EN
Your regular deep dive into recent reports on climate and energy with Frankie Muskovic, Luke Menzel and Tennant Reed. Because there is too much.
17episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
When Is 20 More Than 100? Beats Me(thane)
1w ago01:19:00Tap to summarizeSubscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for Germany industrial decarb tour and London Climate Action Week debrief! This week our Bonus episode includes a debrief from Luke and Tennant on their recent tour of Germany looking for inspo for Australia’s industrial decarbonisation journey plus extra side BoCo on BoCo reportage of the goings on at London Climate Action Week, including the launch of #ElectrifyNow global campaign! Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to check it out. -- In an unprecedented move of late your intrepid hosts temporarily abandon Energy Crisis Corner (we’ll be back fo sho) for a look at China’s just latest and just-published Five Year Plan! On first review of the climate and energy parts, it looks to be weak on carbon and large scale renewables targets but respected Respected China Energy Watchers also argue it’s incredibly strong on the growth of storage and flexibility, and electrification? Already miles ahead of the global ambition in the new #ElectrifyNow campaign for 35% of final energy demand by 2035 - China reckons they’ll get there by 2030 at a steady cruise! Our main course The time has come! Muskovic’s Methane Musings takes to the main stage - as it was always destined to! - and we dive into the Climate Change Authority’s latest consultation paper, ‘Fossil methane: A near-term abatement opportunity’. The good folk at the CCA are being pragmatic and laying out the facts when it comes to sources of methane in Australia, but they’re zeroing in on near term abatement opportunities in the coal and gas sectors, because there’s a lot we can do! Tune in for the opening debate on GWP20 vs GWP100, why measurement and reporting could be better and what kinds of technology and policies could be looked at federally (lookin at you Safeguard) and at the state level. Consultation closes on 7 August so hop on it folks! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: Orica reaching final investment decision on the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub, with a lil’ help from the Hydrogen Headstart program! Frankie’s One More Thing is: a shoutout to Summerupperer Rowan Moorey from Springmount Advisory for alerting us to some cool stats from the IEA showing the significance of energy efficiency compared to electrification, renewables and nuclear on energy and cost savings globally in response to the global fuel crisis. Efficiency for the win! Luke’s One More Thing is: a shout out for the global electrification campaign ElectrifyNow.world launched at London Climate Action Week during a record-breaking heatwave. TL;DR is London isn’t set up for extreme heat and some innovative solutions (cushions stuffed in windows, anyone?) were being deployed across the city to keep folks comfortable. *cough* Adaptation *cough* And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net
Transcribe →Don’t Cry For Gas, DCCEEW Dreamers, Exporters Will Never Leave You
3w ago00:59:23Tap to summarizeSubscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for Bonus Bonn bons! This week our Bonus episode has Frankie interrogating Luke and Tennant for some reportage of all the goings on at the Bonn intersessional talks. Overnight cross country German roadtrips! Electrification! Action agenda! Trade talk snafus! Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon for this especially sweet Boo! — In what will most-definitely-absolutely-hunge-percent be the last episode of Global Energy Crisis Corner because: We Have A Deal! Or do we? At the time of recording a ceremonial signing was in the works for Zurich on Friday so YOU Summerupperers know better than us whether Trump is leaning in on the art in this deal. Will the Strait of Hormuz be open by the time this episode drops? No tolls - just fees! Our main course Your intrepid hosts take a closer look at the Australian Government’s Domestic Gas Reservation Scheme: draft Design Framework, currently out for consultation. We track back over how exactly we got here, key design elements of the scheme and what remains to fleshed out and we reckon all this means for gas users, gas producers and that little thing called the energy transition. One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: a recommendation almost certainly made in the delirium of not enough sleep: anyone who hasn’t yet seen John Woo’s Hard Boiled should know T rates this a hard recommend.* Frankie’s One More Thing is: a reconstitution of Muskovic’s Methane Musings (complete with jingle) to telegraph our very own Climate Change Authority has released a consultation paper on abatement opportunities for fossil methane! Hop on it folks. Luke’s One More Thing is: some free BoCo from Michael Liebreich’s recent visit to Australia, including a keynote at the Energy Efficiency Council’s recent National Conference. Here’s the keynote, fireside Q&A and appearance at the National Press Club. And in light or recent announcements out of Bonn, LMSU also gives a massive shout out to Australia’s Team Electrification, led by the inimitable Anna Freeman, who’s been herding cats on the global electrification pledge launched by Turkiye in Bonn! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail! *sort of.
Transcribe →LMSU Episode 100 Tops Up The National Podcast Reserve
Jun 401:20:26Tap to summarizeSummerupperers, we’ve made it! 100 episodes in and your intrepid hosts are still banging on about the latest developments and papers in climate and energy, because, THERE REALLY IS TOO MUCH. This week the LMSU crew marked the centenary occasion by recording this episode together - in real life! - on Bidjigal and Gadigal country, where we fielded questions and provocations from you, our amazing community of listeners. A huge shout out and thanks to Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Clare McLaughlin, Erwin Jackson, Julian Soo, Georgina Woods, Anna Hancock, Beth Richards, Alison Reeve, Carlos Flores, Anna Skarbek, Barry Sterland, Tom Quinn and the ghost of Queen Elizabeth II for calling in with your questions and well wishes! Over 100 episodes and four and a bit years, one of the best parts of doing LMSU has been hearing from all of you. Emails, shout outs on socials or encounters in the wild - hearing you've enjoyed the pod or find it useful doing the important work you do to advance climate action is why we're still in your ears, every fortnight, summing up the latest developments in climate and energy. And a very special thanks to our Super Sumerupperers who support us on Patreon. Without you, we absolutely would not be here! Your continued support means we can work with the fabulous Mark Spencer, who edits the pod, thereby saving our collective sanity and relative work life balances. If you listen to us on the regular, consider joining our Patreon and getting access to special subscriber only bonus episodes.This week, our bonus episode involves unlocking the archive and airing Episode 0 - our very first pilot episode! Walk, don’t run, over to letmesumup.net for all your LMSU needs.
Transcribe →Data Centre Flex: Moderating Peak Loads To Calm Loads Of Pique
May 2101:17:38Tap to summarizeSend us a voicemail to mark Let Me Sum Up’s upcoming 100th Episode! Your friendly neighbourhood climate and energy podcast of record is about to clock up its 100th episode! Global VP for Marketing and Extortion kindly requests Summeruppers to send us a voicemail with your questions for LMSU’s intrepid hosts or favourite anecdotes from listening to the pod. All contributions welcome! — In Episode XII of Global Energy Crisis Corner the current fuel crisis might have slipped off the radar of everyday Australians because, well, it’s all been Very Much Under Control And Nothing To See Here Except Higher Than Pre-Crisis Domestic Fuel Reserves. That doesn’t stop your tired, but resilient-in-our-nerdery intrepid hosts from another serving of what-is-actually-going-on-out-there chat! The latest IEA Oil Market Report makes it clear things are still VERY BAD but the impacts have been softened by countries drawing down on their domestic reserves - particularly China. But how much longer can this last? And how is this being experienced outside rich countries like Australia that can afford to pay extra to bolster imports? This article in the Economist does a good job outlining the impacts across Asia. Buckle up for Episode XIII folks. Our main course Your intrepid hosts dive out of the fire and into the frying pan to dissect ‘Power Flexible AI Factories: A UK-First Demonsration of Grid-Responsive AI Infrastructure’, a paper from Chris Williams et al and supported by Emerald AI, Electric Power Research Institute, the UK’s National Grid and Nebius. So what does BIG AI think the solution is to managing the growth of power-hungry data centres across the globe? Unsurprisingly this paper is optimistic on the potential for data centres to operate in practice as a form of demand response, to smooth peak demand around significant events (tea kettle breaks for UEFA matches, anyone?) and reduce power consumption by up to 40%. The trial documented in the paper provides some real cause for optimism and throws out some suggestions for reform, but bigger trials and key questions - like who pays for the flex? And how about that water consumption? - still need grappling with. One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: a techno-optimist double delight! CATL deal for 60 GWh sodium-ion batteries for grid storage shows sodium is here and lithium constraints aren’t going to be a problem AND Fervo IPO - geothermal startup raises US$1.89b and market values it at $10b+ - they will have the money to get their first 500MW plant up and running this year (Cape Station, Utah). Frankie’s One More Thing is: a sneaky peak into LMSU’s post Budget analysis to alert folks to a tantalising reference to the Government’s work on a ‘market measure’ to drive demand for new Australian LCLF production (page 12 of BP1 to be precise). Watch this space! Luke’s One More Thing is: some electrification optimism percolating around the country - from the $40m funding in the Budget to help electrify Australia Post’s operations to Incat in Tasmania taking their ferries all electric! LMSU also heartily commends to Summerupperers the book ‘Power, Prosperity and Planet: Climate and Energy Policy For All’ from friend of the pod, Thom Woodroofe! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →Santa (Marta)’s List: These Academics Know If Your Fossil Transition Policies Are Naughty Or Nice
May 701:25:07Tap to summarizeSend us a voicemail to mark Let Me Sum Up’s upcoming 100th Episode! Your friendly neighbourhood climate and energy podcast of record is about to clock up its 100th episode! And our Global VP for Marketing and Extortion kindly requests Summeruppers to send us a voicemail with your questions for LMSU’s intrepid hosts or favourite anecdotes from listening to the pod. All contributions welcome! Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for Pre-Budget Palooza or Grab our Sector Plan Odyssey Six Pack on its own! This week our Bonus episode includes wild and semi-informed speculation on what to expect for climate and energy in this year’s Federal Budget. Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to check it out. And if all you really wanted from LMSU’s BoCo bonanza of late was our six pack of sector plan coverage, you can grab that on its own too. — In a trend that shows no sign of abating, your intrepid hosts reconvene Global Energy Crisis Corner because, it’s been another two weeks and There Is Too Much. Since our last episode global oil prices are back up but local fuel prices are down. Que pasa? Government credit on import deals is subsidising fuel? Lag to global price spikes? Panic hoarding largely passed? A little bit of everything we reckon. So where does this leave us? The crisis doesn’t look like it'll be done anytime soon, time to explore efficiencies and longer term pivots to better storage and electrification we reckon! Our main course Your intrepid hosts think it’s not a bad time for countries to be discussing the transition away from fossil fuels, so cue a global summit we prepared earlier! Last week the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels was held in Santa Marta, Colombia. We unpack where the conference came from (a few COPs in the making!), who was there (lots of constituencies, about half of COP parties pushing for stronger action to phase out fossils), who was not there (the other half of COP countries less keen on faster action, a bunch of business) and what happened! We dive into the Santa Marta Action Repertoire (SMART) Summary, the academic dialogue of the conference, edited and overseen by Friedrich J. Bohn, Jesse Burton, Andrea Cardoso, Frank Jotzo, Sissi Knispel de Acosta, Kjell Kühne, Pao-Yu Oei, Annette Zou. From overcoming economic dependence, to transforming supply and demand and advancing international cooperation and climate diplomacy, ideas abound and some spicy disagreement between your hosts emerges! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: the IMO Net-Zero Framework is back under discussion! The outcome was continued technical refinement work, with adoption decision not due to be re-opened til October 2026. Frankie’s One More Thing is: a hasty convening of Muskovic’s Methane Musings to plug the just-published IEA Global Methane Tracker 2026. What does it say? Frankie’s not sure but Tennant suggests there are claims Australia’s methane fugitives are *way* higher than reported. Luke’s One More Thing is: some reportage on the recent high level dialogue hosted by the IEA in Paris with Turkiye and Australia, at which some encouraging comments were made from Turkiye’s COP31 President Kurum on support for electrification and energy sovereignty… NOW? And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →Trust No One (Particularly Businesses Prioritising Quarterly Profits Over Climate Action)
Apr 2301:09:54Tap to summarizeGrab your limited edition ‘Energy Sovereignty Now!’ t-shirts! There is now an insufficiency of energy sufficiency AND sovereignty tees in the world, but don’t worry, the LMSU merch store has got you covered! Promises made, promises kept folks - grab your limited edition t-shirt right here. Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon so you too can SafeGuarder! This week our Bonus episode unpacks the second year of data from the reformed Safeguard Mechanism with a side serve of national accounts figures. Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to check it out. — Your intrepid hosts reconvene Global Energy Crisis Corner because, There Is Too Much. Since our last episode we’ve seen the PM’s performative tour de force to short up energy contracts in the region, the launch of a mass media campaign gently suggesting we Keep Calm and Take Public Transport Where You Can, one of two Australian fuel refineries ON FIRE, the Great Gas Tax Debate, the blink-and-you-miss-it-open-and-close-of-the-Strait-of-Hormuz, aaand some alarming reporting revealing the inner workings of the Trump administration’s decision to start a war with Iran. Or in other words, just a day ending in Y for 2026! Our main course This week, we read a paper from two political science researchers, Jared J Finnegan and Jonas Meckling, ‘Fighting the Future: Short Term Investors and Business Opposition to Climate Policy in which they’ scour US corporate data for answers to why some businesses oppose regulatory climate policies more frequently or intensely than others. Their focus? Not differences in company emissions intensity, already well studied, but differences in time horizon. Their conclusion? Businesses with more pressure to deliver short term results are more likely to more actively oppose climate policy. Some of this is a bit Captain Obvious, but there are a couple of gems in here, even if there’s a worrying reliance on US political donations data! Extra props must be given for the X-Files Movie reference in the title! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: the IEA Oil Market Report for April 2026 - free! Exciting! Full of uncertainty! Frankie’s One More Thing is: a reconvening of Muskovic’s Methane Musings featuring the currently open DCCEEW consultation on the 2026 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme Updates, including updates to accounting for fugitive methane emissions from coal and gas mining! Luke’s One More Thing is: two shout outs! One for sometime co-host and friend of the pod, Alison Reeve, for the paper recommendation this week, plus one for another friend of the pod, Jan Rosenow, who continues to provide on-point analysis throughout the current, and previous, crises! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →IEEFA Grease Megamix: Fuel Crises, They’re Multiplying / And We’re Losing Control / So The Answer Is Clean Supplying / And Electrifying
Apr 901:37:09Tap to summarizeGrab your limited edition ‘Energy Sovereignty Now!’ t-shirts! There is now an insufficiency of energy sufficiency AND sovereignty tees in the world, but don’t worry, the LMSU merch store has got you covered! Promises made, promises kept folks - grab your limited edition t-shirt right here. Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for the latest episode of My Little GSOO™ This week Tennant and Frankie give Luke the slip as we unpack AEMO’s 2026 Gas Statement of Opportunities. Electrification at pace? You betcha! Gas import terminals? Some still like ‘em! Global fuel crisis? So far unaccounted for, but we can’t say the same for one c-word. Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to check it out. — Wouldn’t you know, the world is *still* cray cray, but extant so let’s take that win! The PM is one national address into this crisis and throw in the National Cabinet’s latest four point plan (the National Fuel Security Plan) and some COVID-style PTSD is kicking in! But not to worry folks, we are at Level Two and the message is very much Don’t Panic, Take The Train Or Work From Home If You Can. We reckon this is a fascinating exercise in laying down markers for messaging that will be ramped up, and we’ll continue to speculate over some of the woolier bits in Levels 3 and 4. WATCH THIS SPACE. Our main course There’s no shortage of ideas abounding at the moment on how exactly not to waste the current fuel crisis, but your intrepid hosts landed upon the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’ latest paper, ‘The perfect storm to boost energy security: How Australia can reduce its oil exposure in the wake of the Iran conflict.’ Brought to us by Kevin Morrison and Amandine Denis-Ryan, the crew at IEEFA do a splendid job of laying out the history and context around Australia’s current predicament of much more marginal reserves than our IEA counterparts and while they’re at it, serve up a menu of sensible solutions on the supply and demand side, to ensure we don’t find ourselves in this particular pickle again. Bilateral crisis supply agreements? We’re seeing some signs of that! Electrification and energy efficiency? That sounds like a thing we’re about! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: true nerd appreciation for the just launched Artemis II! A cool, technically stupendous and peaceful adventure into space! Fun fact: Apollo-era NASA took funding peaking at about 4.6% of US GDP to land men on the moon. Artemis-era NASA is rebooting this while getting about 0.1% of US GDP Frankie’s One More Thing is: A plug for the NSW Net Zero Commission's advice to the NSW Government intended to help inform the work underway for the new NSW Net Zero Plan to 2025, due to be released in mid-2026. They’re big on electrification and methane, and Frankie is, unsurprisingly, a fan. Luke’s One More Thing is: the just released movie of The Magic Faraway Tree. Luke had some trepidation noting Enid Blyton’s outsized impact on his childhood reading, but the ultimate verdict was 3 out of 5 stars - from Menzel and his younguns! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →Oil’s Well That Ends Wells: The Crisis The IEA Was Born For
Mar 2601:24:17Tap to summarizeSubscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for the political commentary BoCo pod you didn’t know you needed in your life! Politics junkies? Guilty as charged! Nothing was going to keep your intrepid hosts from grabbing the popcorn and settling in to watch the SA election this past weekend. Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to hear what we make of the Malinauskas empire and an orange wave. -- The world is still cray cray and your intrepid hosts are here to bear witness to what Fatih Birol has called a fuel crisis worse in its impact than the two 70s oil crises combined. CRIKEY was that a wake-up call for us Aussies who hadn’t yet seen electricity or gas prices spike, but started using public transport and buying more EVs as fuel prices hit $3/L. Where to next you ask? Who knows what batshit crazy moves the orange man will make, but the more uncertainty over where its all going creates delay in supply chains readjusting to the new reality. And could we finally see the imposition of a gas export tax that actually collects revenue? WILD TIMES. Our main course While Dr Birol - longtime IEA maestro - was on Australian shores, he was spruiking their hot-off-the-press report ‘Sheltering from Oil Shocks: measures to reduce impacts on households and businesses’ which promotes a menu of ten options to cut oil consumption through demand side measures. What’s on the IEA wishlist? Public transport! Carpooling! Slowing down on highways! More efficient truck driving! Don’t fly for work! Change to electric cooking! And some doozies that maybe won’t go down well in some quarters (yep, the ol’ WORK FROM HOME idea). This is a striking bit of comms from the IEA. Absolutely right to focus on the here and now, but the longer term actions like ramping up EVs, electrification and reducing reliance on fossil fuels altogether appeared in a modest epilogue. It had your intrepid hosts wondering if the US threat to the IEA to drop that crazy net zero stuff is having an impact. Time will most surely tell! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: a Fraunhofer Institute study of data from 1 million European cars, indicating PHEVs use 3x the fuel they are estimated to using regulatory tests. The reasons: drivers don’t plug them in that much; and the cars tend to run their fossil engines during electric mode more often than regulators assumed. Frankie’s One More Thing is: the formal establishment of Muskovic’s Methane Musings with the exciting development that NSW EPA have just announced they WILL IN FACT regulate methane emissions from coal mining. Luke’s One More Thing is: a shameless plug for the Energy Efficiency Council’s annual conference, coming up in Sydney on May 27-28 at which some guy who apparently does another energy podcast, (Michael Liebreich?) will in fact appear in all three dimensions and corporeal form in Sydney at this conference. If you’ve heard of him, I guess you better go check it out. And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →The General Theory Of Fossil Death Spirals
Mar 1201:10:08Tap to summarizeAnother regional conflict precipitating another energy security crisis has your intrepid hosts feeling some deja vu as we find ourselves in an increasingly familiar setting as we contemplate the opportunities and challenges presented in the current US-Israel war on Iran. Beyond the horrific human toll of the Trump administration’s latest incoherent, all-tactics-no-strategy foray into the Middle East, there are some complex consequences to world energy markets playing out and it’s too soon to tell where this all goes from here. Global oil prices? Spiking! And likely to lead to airfare cost increases. Gas prices? Also spiking! But not in Australia, say whaaat? Like we said, ‘It’s Complicated’. Our main course We stick solidly ON THEME this week with ‘Fossil energy minimum viable scale: unseen infrastructural threats to safety and decarbonization may arise as fossil energy systems are phased out’ from Joshua Lappen and Emily Grubert, published recently in Science. This compact paper packs a punch and has a couple of big ideas to engage with. One is that energy transition types have been want to assume legacy fossil fuel infrastructure will carry on at the required capacity over the required timeframes to see replacement renewables in place. NOT SO say our authors, who contend that minimum viable scales for operation are not well understood and are certainly not being factored into planning for the transition, when it comes to physical, financial and managerial constraints. Their advice? DO better modelling, planning and managing of these issues at an asset level. Elements of this paper felt super familiar (hello gas distribution network death spiral) whole others worrying novel (oh hi there fuel-refinery-that-won’t-operate-under-65%-capacity). Liked the provocations here we did! One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: Cloud Carrier’s proposal to power a new data centre in NSW entirely by natural gas. Lots of debates sure to come! Frankie’s One More Thing is: continued excitement at all things methane abatement focused, from the CCA’s stated priority to look at this in 2026 to the NSW EPA’s consultation on measures it may implement to reduce or destroy fugitive methane emissions from coal mining. Luke’s One More Thing is: listener voicemail from none other than Baethan Mullen, CEO of the Superpower Institute, who left us a note with his reaction to our reaction to their recent paper on pricing carbon pollution. Thanks TSI for keeping us busy reading your excellent work! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →Superpower Institute Soft Launches A Little Idea Called ‘Carbon Pricing’
Feb 2601:20:38Tap to summarizeIt’s 2026 and we’re back, baby! Clearly not much has been happening in the world since we left you appreciating the one liners of dreamy cult classic The Princess Bride, so this we’ll keep brief. HA! Your intrepid hosts cast our sights beyond the binfire of domestic politics for a moment to the latest international institution to draw the ire of the Trump administration - this week featuring the International Energy Agency! The IEA’s recent biennial ministerial gathering in Paris last week saw the US demand climate be dropped as a priority – and specifically that net zero scenarios be dropped from their projections – Or Else! In this case, Or Else means a US withdrawal along with their dollars. Will the IEA succumb to these demands? Your intrepid hosts think unlikely, but Australia and other countries will need to stand firm and/or pick up more of the tab. Our main course The folks at The Superpower Institute must have known the LMSU crew leapt into 2026 ravenous for climate content and oh boy, did they deliver. Their recent paper, ‘The Case For Pricing Pollution,’ authored by 2025 Wonky Award winner Reuben Finighan and Ingrid Burford packs not one BUT TWO big ideas for your intrepid hosts to digest. A ‘Polluter Pays Levy’ would see a price on carbon applied to fossil fuel production/supply with price eventually pegged to the EU ETS, combined with a ‘Fair Share Levy’, a two-way cashflow tax of 40% on oil and gas (but mostly gas) producers, replacing the current and not effective Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. In other words: don your meat dress, crank One Direction, and tax rents and carbon while planking. YOLO (again)! Why has TSI ‘gone there’? we can hear you gentle listeners ask. We are not on track to meet our net zero commitments, structural budget deficits demanding spending restraint in the face of growing costs attached to worthy social supports, and weak productivity suggests the need for a more efficient way to price carbon and raise revenue ($35.6 Bn a year out to 2050 is big dollars). This report is a bold provocation, aiming to stimulate discussion ahead of the 2026/27 Safeguard Review to suggest it’s time to revisit the policy that until recently dared not speak its name. Your intrepid hosts welcome the provocation and thinks there may be multiple ways to skin the carbon price cat. Also, this should definitely have been two papers. Kthnxbye. One more things Tennant’s One More Thing is: another obscure but entertaining pop culture find: V: The Original Miniseries. Available we’re not sure where. You’re welcome! Frankie’s One More Thing is: a strange and unexpected role reversal as she plugs the long-awaited, much lusted after in one T Reed’s heart, the final report from the Government’s carbon leakage review! Slipped out the same day as #LibSpill2026 no less. TL;DR is: do the CBAM! (and not much change from draft report). Luke’s One More Thing is: the currently-showing-in-theatres-Baz-Luhrmann-spectacular “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert”. Stitched together from footage of different Elvis concerts over time, Luke reckons even if you’re not a hunk of burning love for Elvis before seeing this, you might be after. And we throw in a cheeky plug right at the end for Climate Action Week Sydney! Get on it! And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to letmesumup.net to support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Transcribe →