Net zero in Australia, or something extremely close to it, doesn't look impossible at all.
All of the issues you've identified are solvable problems because of the extreme cost-reduction in battery technology. Australia's grid is almost 50% renewables now and that percentage is increasing at about 5% a year, so by the mid-2030s we'll be almost there. EVs are now more or less at price parity with ICE vehicles as well.
Net zero in Australia, or something extremely close to it, doesn't look impossible at all.
All of the issues you've identified are solvable problems because of the extreme cost-reduction in battery technology. Australia's grid is almost 50% renewables now and that percentage is increasing at about 5% a year, so by the mid-2030s we'll be almost there. EVs are now more or less at price parity with ICE vehicles as well.
I did say global...
Expecting a total
global overhaul in just a few decades is asking for a historical anomaly. The bottlenecks I mentioned (grid infrastructure, critical mineral shortages, and the physics of intermittency) have very real, very physical limits.
But also....
Australia is the ultimate litmus test for my argument. It is simultaneously the poster child for both the staggering potential of renewables and the brutal reality of physical bottlenecks.....
Australia has one of the longest, thinnest, and most isolated power grids in the world. From FNQ down to Tasmania and across to South Australia. Known as the 'National Electricity Market' - one of the most complex, volatile, and geographically sprawling electrical markets on Earth.
So I think perhaps that Australia perfectly captures the paradox. If you look at the generation technology (solar panels and batteries), the pace is moving faster than anyone imagined a decade ago. And thats fantastic for the pro-renewables side of the argument ....
But if you look at the civil engineering and human factors (digging holes, stringing 1,000 kilometers of wire, finding sparkies, and navigating local politics), the brakes are firmly pressed.....
I'm all for renewable energy infrastructure investment and everything else moving towards the Net Zero emissions targets but Im sceptical about how it's going to be done!
Amd while he physical and technical hurdles of the energy transition are massive, the political reasoning is arguably the most complex gridlock of all. In Australia, energy policy isn't just about engineering; it is a highly polarised, deeply emotional political battlefield.
One Nation.and its polling number of 31% is a case in point!
