Decarbonisation commitments being made by governments in the Indo-Pacific in responding to climate change have crucial implications for Australia’s national interests. In this seminar we provide two views of the low carbon energy transition being implemented in Australia’s key trading partners in the Indo-Pacific. Dr. Thomas Longden will discuss how demand for fossil fuels in Australia’s key trading partners may change as they implement strengthened climate commitments, using the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM). Associate Professor Emma Aisbett will then show how governments are turning to new International Green Economy Collaborations to support their interests regional climate mitigation, and will discuss their implications for Australia.

Introduction: Disruptive Technologies: Model-based Scenario Analysis of Decarbonisation and Australia’s Strategic Interests in the Indo-Pacific

Llewelyn Hughes, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Llewelyn Hughes is a Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, where he sits on the steering committee of the Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific initiative. He also sits on the Low Carbon Energy Transition Taskforce of the Australia-Japan Business Coordination Committee (AJBCC).

Session One: Modelling the Implications of the Energy Transition: Some Results

Dr Thomas Longden is Senior Research Fellow, Systems Innovation and Demonstration, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University, and a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions. Thomas holds a PhD in environmental economics from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). His work on energy and technological change has been published in leading international journals (including Nature Energy, Climatic Change, Energy, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Energy Policy). Thomas was a Contributing Author on the AR5 WGIII Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report titled Mitigation of Climate Change.

Session Two: The Proliferation of International Green Economy Collaborations

Emma Aisbett is an Associate Professor at the School of Law and Associate Director (Research) for ANU Grand Challenge - Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific. Emma’s previous research spans economic globalization, environmental policy, developing countries, and political economy. She is best known for her work on international investment agreements where she has influenced both academic debate and policy. On this topic Emma has been an invited expert at both the OECD and the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She is also an approved supplier of policy advice to developing countries through the UK Governments TAF2+ initiative.

This event is supported through the Strategic Policy Grants Program, Department of Defence, Australian Government (Grant Agreement 202021-0243). Content is the sole responsibility of the organisers.