Let Me Sum Up

Note
Folks, we recorded this week’s episode before the horrific incident involving independent MP and allround wonderful humn, Helen Haines. We are sending huge love to Helen, her family and team, and best wishes for her recovery.
Helen's family has asked that we show our solidarity and support through a donation to Save the Children – you can do that here.
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It’s that time of year folks, when your intrepid hosts are readying for COP travels and reading the tea leaves for what might come out of the annual global climate negotiations. Following the powerful Pacific voices from Pre-COP, and the strong language of the The Taku Pakasoa Declaration,the stage is set in Antalya for political text recognising overshoot of 1.5C and what must be done to minimise it: featuring, electrification! Methane!! Transition away from fossil fuel language is looking as hard as ever! Engineered removals!?! Added to the mix, expect a big focus on access to finance and some commitment on oceans! Also, check out the latest report from the fab folks at Climate Resource.
Our main course
Climate change is increasing both temperatures and atmospheric moisture, making dangerous humid-heat events more frequent, intense and widespread. A bracing report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Lethal humidity and the systemic risks of climate change, authored by Dr. Robert Glasser with support from Minderoo, says 50-75% of the world's population to dangerous humid-heat conditions by the end of the century if current warming trends continue. This is an issue championed personally by Twiggy Forrest and the report highlights how humid heatwaves create cascading societal impacts, not just health consequences, across different systems - from power grids, to housing to healthcare and agriculture. Indonesia is highlighted as a case study of growing risk in the Indo-Pacific and ASPI calls out the need for a focus on its potential impacts in China. Notwithstanding a bit of caution about the emphasis being placed on this risk over others, there are a lot of sensible recommendations suggesting both a mitigation and adaptation focus will needed into the future.
One More Thing
Tennant’s One More Thing: PENGUIN COLONY.
Frankie’s One More Thing: the HUGELY exciting announcement from the Korean government on its Korea-Green Transformation (K-GX) that amounts to over a trillion dollars of investment across renewable energy, electrification of transport and green industry. This can only be a good thing for Australia as a key trade partner!
Luke’s One More Thing: an episode of the Shift Key podcast that looks at a potentially controversial paper from US analyst Peter Erickson that posits that attempting to limit new fossil fuel infrastructure could be a big distraction for the climate movement.
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!

Pre-COP31 in Fiji and Tuvalu has just wrapped. Its premise was to provide an opportunity for the world to hear directly from the Pacific. In that spirit, we're pressing pause on the summing up this week, and bringing you a selection of the most affecting addresses made at the Pre-COP in Nadi.
On to Antalya.

Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for a squiz at some IEA data on global emissions in 2026
This week our Bonus episode includes Frankie, Luke and Tennant having a look at some sharp analysis in Carbon Brief on the impact of the Iran War on global emissions. Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon.
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Nothing like the 300ish page Intergenerational Report launched earlier this week for an appetiser this week and Frankie in particular has been hanging out for this one. The treatment of climate and energy divided lots of folk (just like the rest of the report) but your intrepid hosts - or at least one of them - maintain IGRs are an important chance to push bold reform!
Our main course
It’s pet indulgence week this week as we dive into a cracker from Wolfram et al 2026 who bring coordinated CBAMs into the frame for their own version of the Bill Nordhaus Climate Club. Is this one more convincing? The big idea: there are lots of economies doing carbon pricing cautiously. If they work together, recognise each other, and border-adjust non-members, they can raise carbon pricing ambition without losing their industries.
We also refer way way back to Episode 20, Watch out, free riders! It’s the Bill’s Angels’ where we covered Climate Clubs 1.0, for your additional listening pleasure!
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!

Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for some much needed Good News Stories on climate!
This week our Bonus episode includes Frankie, Luke and Tennant look to the light to focus on some of things that have us excited and optimistic about climate action - because goodness knows, we could all use an upper! Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to get this sweet, sweet BoCo!
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The Great Data Centre Debate rages on and your intrepid hosts are here trying to inuit just what has been going on at National Cabinet lately. The official text out of the recent meeting isn’t much to go on, but according to the Bluesky community that collectively lost its mind, its carveouts galore for coal and gas powered data centres! Not so says Minister Bowen, who hosed the outrage down, but where does this leave us? State owned generation will be able to seek a Commonwealth-decided exemption from the fully-offset-with-renewables piece - IF - it will not raise costs for other users. This goes beyond just NT and QLD state owned energy (hi there TAS), but where is all the actual investment going anyway? Mostly NSW and VIC. So much more to play out here, and you know the LMSU crew is along for the ride
Our main course
The Albanese Government’s long-anticipated-and-finally-arrived ‘Securing Australia’s Cleaner Fuels Industry: Consultation paper on a demand mechanism’ provided the feedstock for this episode’s main course! Low carbon liquid fuels would help bolster Australia’s fuel security and resilience, and provide a lower emissions alternative to fossil fuels, but Australia has been exporting feedstocks like canola for other countries to make LCLFs. Can Australia grow a domestic LCLF industry? What will the costs of LCLF turn out to be with more demand and supply - are learning rates a thing here? And should electrification feature more centrally in this policy response? Your intrepid hosts muse on these - and more! - in this thoughtful consultation paper.
We also refer back to Episode 77, ‘Hey Big Spender, Blend A Little SAF For Me (Low Carbon, So Refined)’ where we covered the CEFC and Deloitte paper on LCLFs.
One more things
Tennant’s One More Thing is: Irrelevance, redux: Spooky Funny Island Edition! Tennant reckons Widow’s Bay is worth a watch (but don't watch it alone, OR all at once!)
Frankie’s One More Thing is: the just published report from UNEP ‘Limiting Overshoot: Navigating exceedance of 1.5C and pathways towards return’
Luke’s One More Thing is: an article in Renew Economy from energy eminence Alan Pears on battery integrated appliances like induction cooktops and their role in the electrification nation!
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!

Subscribe to LMSU’s Patreon for some AMA action flowing from our 100th episode!

This week our Bonus episode includes Frankie, Luke and Tennant revisiting a question we didn’t get to for our recent 100th episode spectacular: do we think we’ve got anything wrong over the past few years of doing the pod, or are there any positions we’d revisit if we could? Run, don’t walk, over to www.letmesumup.net and subscribe to our Patreon to hear Luke’s controversial response to this worthy question from Baethan Mullen.

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To REZ or not to REZ, is that the question? This week your intrepid hosts recap developments in NSW and VIC as divergence between the major parties emerged on commitments to some of the Big Build projects supporting the renewables rollout. From the Vic Liberals promising to cancel VNI West (replaced with new gas?), repeal the gas substitution roadmap and appliance bans to NSW Liberals pledging to review and scale down the New England REZ, and implement urban REZ zones in Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle and an outback NSW REZ - there’s a bit going on.

Our main course

Grab a stiff drink for a super fun happy time Summerupperers as we dive into - for the first time on this here pod - NOT a paper, but a website: after2c.com! This is the product of Georgetown University professor Dagomar Degroot and the students in the “Existential Risk” class who’ve envisioned, drawing on established science, how climate and other impacts may play out in four different futures. Starting from a ‘central scenario’ termed ‘The Great Hunger’ where emissions plateau, warming continues and the synchronised harvest failures break the global food system in a worldwide famine in 2046, we look at four possible futures - the best of which sees us come ‘Back From the Brink’ and stabilise emissions at 1.9C in 2100. Your intrepid hosts could have discussed this for waaay longer, but given we’re looking ahead to a particularly challenging summer driven by an El Nino event, we think it’s important to get real about why this matters.

One more things

Tennant’s One More Thing is: the irrelevant, junk food, derivative, irresistible-to-Tennant Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.

Frankie’s One More Thing is: a PSA for consultation palooza and a few notable reviews having kicked off in the last week: efficiency of climate related financial disclosures! Low Carbon Liquid Fuels market measure! Hop onto it folks.

Luke’s One More Thing is: a reflection on chats he’s been having with fellow Melbournians who are noticing the unseasonable warmness of the winter they’re experiencing, thinking ahead to the El Nino summer ahead and the priority placed on climate action in response to what happens.

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!