12/14/2025 – Climate- Science.press

The Gulf of America Is Back

After years of market swings, regulatory uncertainty, and deep staffing cuts, America’s energy workforce is overdue for a stabilizing signal. December 10th provides exactly that: the first federal Gulf of America lease sale in nearly two years, offering long-awaited certainty for the companies and workers that power America’s offshore energy engine.

Map showing the Gulf of America, highlighting its geographical location.

From Watts Up With That?

By Erik Milito

Map of the Gulf of America showing major locations, including the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and surrounding countries.

In 2024, Gulf of America oil and gas activity supported approximately 428,000 jobs across all 50 states, contributed $35.9 billion in spending, and generated $7 billion in federal revenues. Few industries deliver that scale of widespread economic impact.

Mandated by President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, this sale is the first of 30 over the next 15 years, with additional sales offshore Alaska. After an unprecedented 24-month leasing gap, the door to America’s offshore future, anchored by Texan expertise, is reopening.

Regular leasing is not a bureaucratic detail; it’s the foundation of long-term offshore development. Offshore oil and gas projects are multi-billion-dollar endeavors with 20–30-year timelines, and many high-skill engineering, fabrication, marine, and logistics jobs supporting are found across the Gulf coast. More than 200 job types, from subsea engineers to welders to data scientists, pay on average 29% above the national average. When leasing stalls, workers feels it first.

Production coming online today is the result of lease sales, policy choices, and investment decisions made years ago. Wood Mackenzie projects that long-planned deepwater projects will add 300,000 barrels per day in 2025 and another 250,000 in 2026, essential to replenish offshore production volumes, offset onshore declines, and strengthen long-term U.S. energy security. None of this happens overnight: consistent leasing is the lifeline for the offshore economy.

The 24-month pause forced operators, service companies, and supply-chain firms to delay projects, scale back planning, and freeze capital, contributing directly to staffing reductions across the region. Predictable leasing restores confidence, giving companies a horizon for investment and workers the stability they deserve.

The offshore ecosystem spans subsea engineering, advanced manufacturing, offshore construction, vessel operations, robotics, data analytics, and safety training, among other innovative energy fields. Regular lease sales mean steadier workloads, predictable capital cycles, and real stability for employers and workers alike.

The benefits ripple far beyond individual operating companies. Steady offshore activity supports local suppliers, fabrication yards, and service providers, sustaining thousands of additional jobs across the nation. When companies along the Gulf coast can count on long-term projects, they are better able to invest in technology, training, and infrastructure that strengthens the city’s energy cluster and keeps it globally competitive. This ripple effect ensures that the Gulf of America remains an anchor of America’s offshore energy industry, benefiting communities, families, and the local economy for decades.

Offshore development also delivers massive amounts of public revenue. In 2024, U.S. offshore activity generated $7 billion in direct federal revenue. Through updates to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), a growing share of that revenue flows back to Gulf states funding coastal restoration, hurricane protection, community infrastructure, and other critical investments.

The Gulf of America is one of the world’s most prolific and lowest-carbon intensity offshore basins, with Gulf barrels having 46% lower carbon intensity than the global average. Every barrel produced here displaces higher-emission imports while strengthening energy security for America and its allies.

With global threats rising and energy markets volatile, predictable investment opportunities are essential to our economic future, both locally and nationally. It signals to investors that the U.S. is committed to long-term energy development. It gives companies confidence. It gives workers stability. And it gives the Gulf of America, after years of uncertainty, a clear horizon it can finally plan around.

With the December 10th lease sale, and the 29 that follow, the Gulf of America is once again positioned to anchor America’s energy future, and our workforce has a reason to look forward with confidence.

Erik Milito is President of the National Ocean Industries Association.

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.

Moron Miliband Hands £1.5 Million of Taxpayer Money to Make Vegan Supplements

Energy Secretary announces £1.5m in taxpayer funds for the ‘fish-free’ Omega 3 project

A digitally created superhero in a red and gold armor, standing confidently in a desolate urban landscape, with ruins visible in the background.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

h/t Philip Bratby

Miliband needs certifying!

From the Telegraph:

Energy Secretary announces £1.5m in taxpayer funds for the ‘fish-free’ Omega 3 project

Ed Miliband has bankrolled plans to make vegan supplements on the site of the former Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland.

The Energy Secretary announced £1.5m of taxpayer support for the project on Thursday, which will produce “fish-free” Omega 3 from algae.

Mialgie is the vegan supplements business behind the scheme, which is the first government-backed project at Grangemouth since Ineos shut down the refinery earlier this year.

The closure led to more than 400 jobs being lost at the site, sparking outrage from unions and MPs alike.

However, the plan was dismissed by critics who said the site would be better placed as an oil refinery.

It comes after the closure of the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire earlier this year, piling more pressure on the country’s energy security as it moves towards net zero.

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: “Nations become rich from plentiful cheap oil and gas, not from Omega 3 supplements. This highlights the job-destroying madness of net stupid zero.”

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, also dismissed the plans: “It’s all very good to have fish-free fish oil, but what the country really needs is refining capacity.

“Britain has lost a third of our refineries this year and they are collapsing under sky-high energy costs and carbon taxes thanks to Labour’s policies.”

Full story here.

As usual the Telegraph commenters are on the ball:

A screenshot of comments from an online article discussing Ed Miliband's announcement of funding for a vegan Omega 3 project, featuring user comments expressing various opinions.

Precisely, Mr Pratt. How the hell does this moron get the authority to waste taxpayer money on any project he chooses?

One state’s green mandates can become another state’s nightmare

States that have adopted “clean-energy” mandates are accustomed to having ratepayers in other states help them pick up the tab for their headlong march to a green utopia. This is especially true when this involves stringing high-voltage transmission lines across vast expanses to conduct intermittent wind and solar power generated in remote locations.

A cartoon unicorn jumps over solar panels with wind turbines in the background under a clear sky.

From CFACT

By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.

But no longer willing to serve as innocent bystanders in the schemes of others, a growing number of voices are calling for a halt in the practice. “States must pay the costs of their own goals. That’s a basic principle of cost allocation – and it’s being ignored across the country right now,” notes Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND). “Families and businesses in states like North Dakota shouldn’t be paying higher electricity bills because other states choose unrealistic, expensive mandates.”

Fedorchak has recently introduced a bill, the “Fair Allocation of Interstate Rates (FAIR) Act,” that targets the current practice of having regional authorities spread the cost of long interstate transmission lines across all consumers in the region regardless of who benefits. This cost-shifting serves the interests of states aggressively pursuing renewable-energy mandates. But it is a “bad-neighbor” policy that drives up electricity costs for everyone and encourages the use of eminent domain on private land to make way for the unwanted transmission lines.

Growing ire among farmers and ranchers who see valuable acreage sacrificed on the alter of somebody else’s green agenda prompted Fedorchak in September to pen a letter into the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in support of her state’s formal complaint challenging the regional cost-allocation formula used by the Midcontinent Systems Operator (MISO) to charge customers for new transmission lines. MISO is the electric grid operator for 15 states in the central U.S. and the Canadian province of Manitoba. North Dakota was joined I its complaint by Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana.

Calling the current cost-allocation arrangement a “subsidy scheme,” Fedorchak wrote that,” The massive build out in the MISO region is driven by the aggressive decarbonization goals of several MISO states, but North Dakota is not one of them. States must pay the costs of their own goals.” In her letter, Fedorchak was joined by North Dakota Senators John Hoeven (R) and Kevin Crammer (R), who have introduced companion legislation to the FAIR Act in the Senate.

Hundreds of miles south of North Dakota, the Mississippi Public Service Commission endorsed Fedorchak’s bill, saying, “Policies that promote these unequitable transmission expenditures and promote cross subsidization should be stopped.”

Fedorchak’s bill to put an end to the socialization of the costs of transmitting green energy would:

“Prohibit cost allocation of policy-driven transmission to consumers in states that did not approve or benefit from the underlying policy.
Restore state authority and protect ratepayers and landowners from subsidizing projects they do not need.
Require FERC to issue implementing regulations within six months.”

“Our legislation protects the principle of “user pay” by ensuring that if activists in Los Angeles, Chicago, or Minneapolis mandate expensive, unreliable energy, they foot the bill for their decisions,” Crammer said.

Efforts to spare ratepayers and landowners the cost of other states’ renewable-energy mandates are now caught up in a larger congressional initiative aimed at speeding up the notoriously slow federal permitting process for infrastructure projects. While the bipartisan “Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act,” as currently written, does much to trim red tape and curtail litigation challenging infrastructure projects, it runs the risk of being hijacked to serve the interests of wind and solar power developers. Specifically, the bill could end up containing language facilitating the installation of transmission lines connecting remote wind and solar farms to the electric grid – all in the name of “permitting reform.”

If developers of wind and solar farms want to see their remote facilities connected to population centers where demand for electricity is high, they should pay for the transmission lines themselves. This, of course, would be prohibitively expensive to an industry already reeling from the phase-out of its federal subsidies. Lawmakers eager to upgrade the nation’s grid to accommodate soaring, AI-driven demand for electricity, should think twice before throwing a life-line to an industry incapable of surviving without some form of taxpayer handout.

The vaunted energy transition in whose name green mandates were imposed is being rapidly superseded by the realities of 21^st century technology. Offloading the costs of those mandates to consumers in states that never adopted them is an extraterritorial abuse of power.

This article originally appeared at Real Clear Energy

The Christmas Gift that Climate Grinches Can’t Abide

Rising CO₂ is greening the Earth, boosting crops, and feeding a growing population—proof that modern warmth can be a gift, not a curse.

Sunrise over rolling hills with a bright sky, featuring the bold text 'carbon dioxide and a warming climate change are no problem'.

From Watts Up With That?

By Vijay Jayaraj

A lush green agricultural field with rows of tall crops under a clear blue sky. In the distance, a harvesting machine is working, illustrating the scene of a productive farming landscape.

The quietude of looking out the kitchen window on a December morning at a meadow dusted in snow is magical. A deer pauses at the edge of the wood, breath steaming in the cold air, grazing on whatever bits of green poke through the snow. It is a scene replicated on greeting cards and stamped on cookie tins.

Part of the magic behind that tableau—from the roast in the oven to the cranberries on a plate, from the pine and hardwoods standing tall outside to the browsing fauna—is a phenomenon the establishment media ignore CO₂-driven, NASA-acknowledged greening of Earth.

Satellite data from the last four decades confirm a significant increase in vegetation over as much as half the globe. During this period, atmospheric CO₂ increased from about 350 parts per million (ppm) to more than 400 ppm, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels.

It is a gift arriving right on cue to meet a continuous increase in population and demand for food. This basic sustenance allows for all other human endeavors—developments in artificial intelligence, medicine, and more. It is difficult to write computer code on an empty stomach.

Behind this gift of plenty is a process fundamental to all life, starting with plants: Photosynthesis is a mechanism by which plants use CO₂, water, and sunlight to make sugars for food. When atmospheric CO₂ rises—whether from the emissions of human activity or any other source—plants grow faster. A side benefit is that they use water more efficiently, making them more resilient to arid conditions and extending their geographic range.

The degree to which plants respond to more CO₂ varies, but it is always positive. An increase in CO₂ to 800 parts per million (ppm) or so—more than double the current atmospheric concentration—increases yields by 10% to 100%.

In greenhouse farming, carbon dioxide levels are elevated to 1,000 ppm or so to increase the yields of tomatoes and cucumbers by 20% to 40%. Plants, such as corn, sugarcane, and millets, also benefit from higher atmospheric CO₂, whose positive effect on them is even more evident in the presence of drought.

For many, a cold Christmas morning is warmed by coffee, especially festive offerings like peppermint mocha and gingerbread latte. Well, the good news is that even coffee plants are boosted by the rise of CO₂. Studies in Latin America found that elevated carbon dioxide boosted coffee plant photosynthesis and increased yields by 12% to 14%.

People forget that the Little Ice Age—lasting from about 1300 to 1850—brought crop failures and famine to large sections of Europe and Asia. Rivers froze, and growing seasons shrank. Many communities struggled during periods of cold-induced scarcity.

The 20th century delivered the opposite: the longer growing seasons of a modestly warmer climate paired with higher levels of CO₂. This is hardly the making of a catastrophe that some would have us believe. In fact, a 2025 analysis projected changes in global average yields across all crops to be neutral or positive up to 5 degrees Celsius of warming into the future.

Only the Climate Grinches would oppose such a bounty of greening from modern warmth and CO₂ concentrations. These are the characters who have dominated headlines in popular media and policy roundtables in Brussels and Washington. They steal not only the joy of experiencing this natural abundance by spreading false fears but also the prosperity and sovereignty of nations.

Climate Grinches look at a greening planet and see disaster. When NASA announces that Earth has added vegetation equivalent to two American continents, they warn that this cannot last, that benefits are temporary, and that doom still awaits. When farmers report bumper harvests enabled by longer growing seasons and CO₂ fertilization, the Climate Grinches insist that gains are outweighed by unspecified future horrors.

So, this Christmas season, when you gather with your family, look at the spread before you with new eyes. Reject the guilt that climate orthodoxy seeks to place on our shoulders. Modern lifestyles are not destroying the planet. We are basking in a vibrant ecosystem that supports more greenery, more people, and more human potential than at any other time in history.

This commentary was first published by American Greatness on December 8, 2025.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Science and Research Associate at the CO₂ Coalition, Fairfax, Virginia. He holds an M.S. in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in the U.K., and a bachelor’s in engineering from Anna University, India.

Rationality Returns to Australia as Climate Scare Wanes

Australia’s green energy experiment has left millions of its citizens with a shaky power grid, serving as a case study on how blind allegiance to climate dogma leads to economic and social turmoil.

The Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are prominently featured against a clear blue sky, reflecting in the water below.

From CO2 Coalition

By Vijay Jayaraj

Australia’s green energy experiment has left millions of its citizens with a shaky power grid, serving as a case study on how blind allegiance to climate dogma leads to economic and social turmoil.

The once sacred “net zero” pledge has been exposed as a curse producing public anger, stark warnings from industry and a rethinking of national energy policy. Cracks in the so-called consensus about human-caused global warming are widening.

Last week, the National Party of Australia finally broke the spell. By unanimously voting to abandon a 2050 net zero target, party members fired the first shot in a rebellion against the “green” agenda, declaring that cheap and reliable power must come before climate ideology. Faced with a struggling grid, shuttering industries and an angry electorate, and the party stated the obvious: “We need to prioritize cheaper energy.”

On November 13, the Liberal Party followed in the footsteps of Nationals and reversed their commitment to net zero by 2050. “Our emissions reduction goals will never come at the expense of Australian families, and this is the principle that will guide every decision we take,” said Sussan Ley, the leader of the Liberals, the main opposition party.

These decisions did not emerge in a vacuum. It is a natural reaction to years of recklessness that dismantled a stable energy system and replaced it with wishful thinking. Wind and solar technologies have not delivered the affordability or reliability their advocates promised.

Household electricity prices in Australia are currently 45% higher than those in the U.S. Power bills are up by as much as $526 per household. Why endure this when reliable coal and natural gas plants once kept lights on affordably?

Governments sidelined these sources, labeling them outdated, while wind turbines could operate less than half the time of conventional sources and solar panels less than a quarter. These numbers reveal the truth: Intermittent wind and solar cannot sustain a modern economy.

Battery storage – heralded as the backup savior of wind and solar – has failed to live up to its billing. Flagship mega-projects like the Snowy 2.0 pump-hydro scheme suffered cost blowouts, delays and technical hurdles. What began as a $2 billion project has ballooned beyond $12 billion, with tunneling disasters and technical setbacks making completion uncertain.

Australian Capital Territory’s Page Research Centre (PRC) says the net zero commitment no longer serves the interests of Australians. It notes electricity and gas prices have increased by around 40% since Australia committed to the “decarbonization” target. “Lower-income households already spend nearly four times the share of their income on energy compared to higher-income households, making affordability a question not only of economics but of equity,” says the PRC.

A PRC review also shows that the fiscal burden of green policies is substantial: “Between the Capacity Investment Scheme, Rewiring the Nation, hydrogen subsidies, and state-based SuperGrid programs, the combined public exposure to net-zero-aligned spending exceeds $120–$140 billion.”

Industries suffer most from this chaos. The Tomago Aluminium Smelter), Australia’s largest, warns of closure without a viable energy deal, as current contracts expire amid unaffordable prices. Tomago employs thousands, but high grid costs render operations unsustainable.

BlueScope Steel reported a 90% profit plunge in 2025, blaming energy expenses three to four times higher than in the United States. Manufacturers like these once thrived on cheap coal, but now they demand subsidies or face shutdowns, accelerating deindustrialization.

Farmers’ federations and business councils have raised alarms that current energy policy risks national competitiveness. Entrepreneur Dick Smith – known to some as Australia’s national treasure – recently condemned the “lies” demonizing fossil fuels and fostering fear about climate change.

Australia can reclaim its energy sovereignty by investing in what works: coal, natural gas and nuclear. Modern coal plants with high-efficiency, low-emission technology produce a fraction of the emissions of older units while providing stable baseload power. Gas remains indispensable for balancing supply and demand.

Nuclear, long demonized by green lobbies, offers reliability that no solar array can match. Yet regulatory barriers persist. Successive governments have banned nuclear power since 1998, even as allies like the U.S., France and Japan expand their fleets. The ban looks more absurd than ever.

The National Party’s abandonment of net zero signals broader rebellion. State branches in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia had already rejected the target, pressuring federal leaders. Even mainstream media outlets that once championed “green” narratives are now questioning their validity.

The conversation has shifted from “how fast” to decarbonize to “whether” it makes sense at all.

This commentary was first published by Real Clear Markets on December 4, 2025.

Tags: global warming hysteria, queensland, nuclear power, Wind and solar power, Australia, CO2, Net Zero, Vijay Jayaraj

2025 global tropical cyclone season debunks climate hysteria

A tranquil tropical beach scene with palm trees framing a clear blue ocean and a small pool of water in the foreground. — Beautiful tropical beach with coconut palm trees in Seychelles

From CFACT

By Joe Bastardi

A sepia-toned image of a cowboy sitting on a horse, thoughtfully looking into the distance, with the text overlay questioning when in Earth's history the climate did not change.

Tropical cyclones have become a pawn in the man-made climate change game. If you ever want to gauge deception and ignorance as a metric, you can find it here. I aim to show the GLOBAL reality of this season in the tropics to counter the propaganda, sadly, on both sides, much more though on the alarmist side. President Trump did not stop the hurricanes this year, as I have seen some social media comments on. In this day and age, I can never tell who is kidding. And the lack of hurricane hits is no more a sign of climate change as years with multiple hits. I did not use “climate change” as a reason for the Dec 7, 2023, forecast for a season from hell for the U.S for 2024, nor was it used for this year’s much less forecast than last year (and of course it wound up well under even that idea).

First of all, and I reviewed this earlier, the centering of the ACTUAL HIGHEST ACE RELATIVE TO AVERAGE this year, wound up about 350 miles east northeast of what we had as our idea. I have stated that the whole numbers game adds up to nothing; it’s who gets hit that really counts. But the numbers game is what everyone focuses on. It’s like pickleball to real tennis to me. So, our impact forecast was overdone for the US, unlike last year, which was issued further out. The reason is simple. I thought the congregation of tracks would be further west. Even with that, the amount of damage from non-named storms and the ones offshore to the beaches was quite high. North Carolina had 16 houses fall into the sea. In 2011, when Category 2 Irene hit the NC coast, only 6 houses fell into the sea. So, the unnamed storms, one of them that should have been named, did their dirty work this year

Of course, man-made climate change, people would point to that as a sign they are right about Sea level rise. And the counter is that they all stayed out at sea, and you build a house on a sand bar, there are bound to be problems.

But look at this chart below and see how you can play the game. Skeptics can say, less than the average, all out at sea. Alarmists say more major hurricanes than average and higher than average ACE/storm. Which, by the way, is where we were in the 1950s, as ACE storm has fallen because we name so many storms now. ACE overall is above normal, but named storm days, Hurricanes, and hurricane days are all below normal

The charts below are National Hurricane Center/Joint Typhoon Warning Center data as tabulated by Colorado State University.

A chart displaying data on tropical cyclones, including named storms, named storm days, hurricanes, major hurricanes, and accumulated cyclone energy, categorized by different basins such as North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific.

So, you can play a game like this, one way or the other, and try to get sound bites, but in the end its much ado about nothing. And that the vast majority of the meteo media talks about the Atlantic, and TRIES TO EQUATE THAT TO CLIMATE CHANGE, it’s the western Pacific that is the Canary in the coal mine and gets no attention unless there is a Super typhoon.

So, when we look at the Atlantic with the highest 10-year period ace index wise, it leads to the hysteria over climate change. The Atlantic ACE averages 122.5 per year, so this is an impressive stat as a stand-alone. Problem is the average ACE/storm is over 2 per storm under the 1950s, which means the average storm is weaker. Fewer storms were named in the 1950s, but on average were stronger. So, when a dime-sized feedback storm goes wild, the screams of them getting stronger should be muffled by a look at past years (and adapting our power and impact scale where size matters)

A table displaying the Atlantic hurricane season data from 2016 to 2025, showing the number of storms, hurricanes, and their activity levels.

But look at the western Pacific in the 1950s, keeping in mind their average ACE is 2.5 times of the Atlantic

Table showing tropical cyclone activity from 1957 to 1968, with columns for year, ACE index, named storms, hurricanes, and activity status.

That is nuts

But look at the last 20 years

Data table showing historical tropical cyclone activity from 2005 to 2025, including year, ACE values, number of storms, hurricanes, and activity level status.

This is wild, and if you are trying to make some kind of climate statement, it should be heavily weighted on what is going on in the Western Pacific. And it impacts global activity, so global activity is below normal

The Atlantic was the only basin above average

Line graph depicting the Current Season North Atlantic Ocean ACE from 1991 to 2020, showing fluctuations in ACE values over time.

The west pac way below average

Graph showing the current season accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) for the Northwest Pacific Ocean from 1991 to 2020, depicting a rising trend.

And there you are, globally

Line graph showing the Current Season Northern Hemisphere Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) from 1991 to 2020, with two lines indicating different data trends over time.

So, all this hysteria about storms getting worse is cherry picking and not showing the big picture. Which is exactly what someone wanting to hide the whole truth would do. Besides, given the “we are the world” mentality that is prevalent in the climate community, is it not better that a more populated area of the planet is not being hit as badly?

But if you want to make a climate statement on tropical activity it’s where the biggest, strongest ones are that should be front and center. The Atlantic, puny as it is compared to the western Pacific, is trying to take up the slack but falls short.

There are reasons I have put forth involving the distorted warming spreading out energy, so there is less focusing of the energy in the tropics, leading to reduced upward motion (as shown by fewer clouds), but that is not what the mission of this blog is. It’s to point out that yelling no hits, Hoorah for my team, and then someone saying, more rapid feedback, see the world is going to hell in a handbasket, is all trivializing the big picture, which I look at since the Indo Pacific is so important. There is no magic co2 fairy in charge of all this. The actual result globally as the world warms is either no change or less. In the western Pacific, its down, in fact, way down. Combine that with no US hits this year, and all I can say to the climate alarmists is, better luck next year (OH, wait an El Niño is coming on… maybe the west pac will come up and you get use that)

The only way to rise above all this is to make sure if you love the weather, you enjoy the weather, cause it’s the only weather you got.

BHP Exec to Australia: “time to reconsider net zero” if Australia wants Mining Investment

First published JoNova; A senior executive of Australia’s largest mining company has delivered an ultimatum to our green leaders.

A foggy railway scene featuring two rows of rusted freight train cars alongside railroad tracks, with piles of black coal on the ground.

From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

First published JoNova; A senior executive of Australia’s largest mining company has delivered an ultimatum to our green leaders.

Mining giant’s rising star Brandon Craig warns even green policy stalwarts like Canada are moving to protect their economies

By Brad Thompson, The Australian

BHP rising star Brandon Craig has warned Labor it needs to reconsider how policy settings are calibrated, including around emissions and climate targets, or risk being left behind by governments hungrier for mining investment.

Investment rivals like Chile, Argentina, the United States and Mark Carney’s Canada were acting to attract and secure multi-billion dollar investment from miners, but Australia was failing to meet their terms.

Mr Craig suggested it was time to reconsider net zero and decarbonisation policies to safeguard Australia’s economy. “I would let readers form their own conclusions but I think if we contrast directionally where the rest of the world is going versus where Australia is going across energy policy, tax policy, industrial policy, deregulation, even in some respects net zero positioning and decarbonisation, even stalwarts like Canada – in the face of tariffs and the impact to the economy from US policy – is walking back policies that the country can’t afford anymore,” he said.

…Read more: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-giants-rising-star-brandon-craig-warns-even-green-policy-stalwarts-like-canada-are-moving-to-protect-their-economies/news-story/cf40509945848e7bfd4e926dd0f041b5

Mines need continuous investment to function. As patches of ground are exhausted, mining equipment needs to be moved to new parts of the claim, or to new claims entirely.

But nowadays there is a lot of competition for that mining investment.

Argentina is developing the enormous Vaca Muerta Shale gas field as a national priority, which directly threatens Australia’s gas dominance. The new $15 billion Simandou Iron Ore mine in Guinea threatens Australia’s iron ore exports, and Indonesia has had a 5 year winning streak of rising thermal coal exports to Asia.

Despite a lot of noise about renewables, the reality is coal demand is Asia, already at a record high, is still rising. But that demand might not be satisfied by Australia.

Tactics to dump coal are failing in Asia as energy demand booms

Bloomberg News | December 9, 2025 | 4:38 pm Energy Asia China Coal

Coal’s future in Asia is looking brighter, as the top-consuming region’s efforts to shift to cleaner energy suffer a series of setbacks.

Indonesia has canceled a flagship project that was the poster child for shuttering coal plants early. India is considering expanding its fleet until mid-century instead of through 2035. And China’s on track for another year of record mine output, bolstered by demand from the chemicals sector, despite a steady roll-out of renewables.

The through line here is that concerns over energy security and costs are trumping the climate agenda in Asia’s high-growth, high-polluting economies. Power demand is soaring for everything from air conditioning to AI data centers, and governments keen to avoid outages are waving through coal plant approvals.

…Read more: https://www.mining.com/web/tactics-to-dump-coal-are-failing-in-asia-as-energy-demand-booms/

Despite relatively high costs and long-distance logistics, Australia until recently won top marks for political stability. That reputation for stability is now in doubt, as threats to limit gas exports, soaring energy prices and looming grid instability spook mining companies like BHP.

$60 Billion Investor Slams Green Australia for “Quietly Quitting” on Gas

Australia desperately needs mining investment.

In some cases like Mount Isa, Aussie governments are so desperate for miners to stay, they’re handing out subsidies. Yet on other issues, like affordable energy and a stable political landscape, Australia is letting miners down.

If green energy delivered the lower energy costs advocates keep promising, none of this would be an issue. But the reality is Australia’s energy transition is an economy wrecking disaster. Even green stalwarts like Canada have realised it is all a big mistake, and are slowly, quietly, walking back the worst of their green energy madness.

Brandon Craig just delivered BHP’s final warning to Australia. But I very much fear Australia’s current leaders are too stupid to listen.

Climate Fact-Check November 2025

Climate change NOT making hurricanes or wildfires worse – Calif. Wildfires caused by arson Atlantic Ocean’s “conveyor belt” is NOT on the verge of collapse – Fossil fuels saving lives.

From ClimateRealism

Guest Post by: The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, The Heartland Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute, and the International Climate Science Coalition, and Truth in Energy and Climate.

Editor’s note: This summary serves as a fact check on the top false claims made about climate change by the media in November 2025.

Climate change NOT making hurricanes or wildfires worse – Calif. Wildfires caused by arson Atlantic Ocean’s “conveyor belt” is NOT on the verge of collapse – Fossil fuels saving lives.

A fact check article discussing the claim that climate change made Hurricane Melissa worse, featuring graphs comparing hurricane frequency and intensity over time. — Links: *Detroit Free Press* article, adjustments of hurricane counts, temperature and cyclone strength.

A fact-check article discussing claims about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and its potential collapse, featuring graphs and data related to climate science. — Links: Communications Earth & Environment article, flurry of headlines, AMOC remaining the same, AMOC speeding up.

Screenshot of an article from SPACE.com discussing wildfires and climate change, featuring claims about increased fire severity and a fact check stating that wildfires are not becoming more frequent or intense. — Links: Space.com story, State of Wildfires report, NASA data, *Science* paper, *Nature Communications* paper.

A graphic displaying a detailed fact-check about the Pacific Palisades Fire, including claims made by California Governor Gavin Newsom and information about wildfire trends in California from 1980 to 2024. — Links: Governor Newsom comments, arson-fire story, historic wildfires, failure of state government.

Infographic showing global production trends of cocoa beans, coffee, and grapes from 1961 to 2023. — Links: *The Independent’s* article, Aerosol injection, U.N. FAO data.

An editorial image showcasing a fact-check regarding claims about fossil fuels, with graphs showing average life expectancy by continent and global deaths from meteorological disasters. — Links: *Al Jazeera* article, life expectancy, weather related deaths, crop yields.

Until next month, enjoy these and other great climate fact checks at:

ClimateRealism.com

ClimateDepot.com

Wattsupwiththat.com

Day: December 14, 2025

The Gulf of America Is Back

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Moron Miliband Hands £1.5 Million of Taxpayer Money to Make Vegan Supplements

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One state’s green mandates can become another state’s nightmare

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The Christmas Gift that Climate Grinches Can’t Abide

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Rationality Returns to Australia as Climate Scare Wanes

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2025 global tropical cyclone season debunks climate hysteria

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BHP Exec to Australia: “time to reconsider net zero” if Australia wants Mining Investment

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Climate Fact-Check November 2025

Guest Post by: The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, The Heartland Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute, and the International Climate Science Coalition, and Truth in Energy and Climate.

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