Climate Energy Finance, Climate Capital Forum Media Release
Climate Capital Forum has welcomed the Australian Government’s new Launchpad funding program for early-stage climate and renewable energy startups, announced by Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) alongside the ‘Australian Built 2026’ climate tech showcase in Canberra today.
The commitment aligns directly with long-standing advocacy by the Climate Capital Forum to accelerate the deployment of public capital into domestic clean energy innovation.
The funding allows critical innovations – spanning energy storage, hydrogen, green metals, grid technologies, and clean digital platforms – to move rapidly out of the lab and into the market while retaining intellectual property and capability within Australia.
“ARENA has heard the message from the cleantech, renewable energy and decarbonising innovators that the money needs to get out the door faster and more effectively, so our own companies can succeed in the global market,” said Blair Palese, founder of Climate Capital Forum.
“Australia’s window to lead on cleantech is closing fast, and today’s announcement shows the government is listening.
“The demand for clean energy is skyrocketing in Australia and around the world. We need to respond with the fastest possible funding and investment. This boosts the crowding in of private investment, getting projects to market faster,” said Ms Palese.
Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance, a member group of Climate Capital Forum, said “It’s excellent to see ARENA funding being accelerated to stimulate early stage ventures in the critically important cleantech sectors.
“This will incentivise more innovation to progress new ideas and ventures up the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) curve towards commercialisation. It is great to see the Future Made In Australia initiative working to leverage smart new Australian developments coming out of our world leading universities and innovation hubs.”
Climate Capital Forum’s advocacy has centred on the value to Australia of retaining intellectual property and economic value domestically, and growing the next generation of climate technology companies that support jobs and capabilities here.
Climate Capital Forum is a network of investors, climate finance experts, decarbonising companies and philanthropists who came together to provide policy advice on how Australia can lead the world in decarbonising, renewable energy and cleantech innovation.
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“ARENA has heard the message from the cleantech, renewable energy and decarbonising innovators that the money needs to get out the door faster and more effectively, so our own companies can succeed in the global market,” said Blair Palese, founder of Climate Capital Forum.
The entire basis of hyper-liberal (free-market) economic reform was the lie that private enterprise does best, all that is required for a vigorous economy in which all benefit.
The admission from the Climate Capital Forum that actually, there’s plenty that government does better and quicker, is an admission that liberal economics is all nonsense.
As the noted economist Prof. Michael Hudson has stated, the economics books in every library should be in the fiction section.
The sooner Labor begins to state publicly what everyone in business already knows, but which is suppressed by the media, the sooner they can get on with the job of being a fair dinkum government for the people.
FINALLY ….. a government proposal that DOES NOT DEVALUE AUSTRALIAN INGENUITY AND INNOVATION!!
There must be a Labor government because the COALition are only good at selling on Australian innovations for their foreign masters to harvest all the profits,
Indeed, it is so fundamental that corporations do not have the wherewithal to succeed via propaganda (advertising), buy-out of competitors and stockmarket manipulations. They must be cognisant of (proper democratic) govts and the instruments of govt, who monitor & (hopefully) respond to the needs of the masses – the ‘marketplace’ on its own would soon devolve into dysfunctional chaos.
A case in point, for a country of boasting hubris, is the arrogant, brutal and increasingly corrupted American govt, and its inane greed-based ‘market economy’ which has repeatedly driven its common folk into wars and poverty.
Since the start of the 20th century:
* Financial Panic 1907 GDP <11.0%> Unemployment 8%
* Depression 1920-21 GDP <6.9%> Unemployment 11.7%
* Great Depression 1929-33 GDP <26.7%> Unemployment 24.9% Stockmarket <86%> Bank failures 9,000
* Roosevelt Recession 1937-8 GDP <18.2%> Unemployment 19.0%
* Oil Shock Recession 1973-75 GDP <3.2%> Unemployment 9.0%
* Volcker Recession 1981-2 GDP <2.7%> Unemployment 10.8%
* Dot-Com Bust 2001 GDP <0.3%> Unemployment 6.3%
* Great (sub-prime) Recession 2007-9 GDP <4.3%> Unemployment 10% Household wealth <$19.2T>
* Covid-19 Recession 2020 GDP <31.2%> Unemployment 14.7%
The ‘Financial Panic’ of 1907 caused America to introduce the ‘Federal Reserve’, not that it has done much good overall battling American market-driven consumerism, because it is subject to the wiles of its member banks & biased political pressures. A situation that prevails in all the world’s central banks.
Likewise after WWII, the ‘allies’ held Bretton Woods Conference with most influence from America & Britain, introduced the IMF & World Bank, to aid with post-war reconstruction. It could be said that most reconstruction (principally in Britain/Western Europe, was carried out by foreign near-slave labour desperate for work. Today the IMF and World bank systems can reasonably be accused of lending to poor & developing countries (esp Global South), locking them into debt traps.
The Great (sub-prime) Recession, aka Global Financial Crisis, sent the world’s financial system into chaos. The American ordinary taxpayers bailed out the largesse of the crooked US bankers. America and the rest of the (western) world has never recovered.
Way back, Marx’s main warning about capitalism was that it leads to exploitation of the working class and creates significant social inequalities, ultimately resulting in class struggle and potential societal collapse. It’s no small irony that America having rejected his advice, and went on a vigorous attack against ‘communism’ and ‘socialism’ preferring its (militant) ‘free-market capitalism’, which in turn lead to unnecessary wars, and the recessions & depressions listed above.
The various abovementioned devices were mere band-aids over a system that ought now be rightly named ‘capture-capitalism’, that in its extreme – neo-liberalism/neo-conservatism, has brought the world to its knees, and America, Britain and western Europe near to collapse.
The American Trumpian regime is the ultimate symptom of the great American beguilement. Its con-job on the forlorn American common folk empowered the regime, and they are now going about a brutal kleptocracy, stranding the common folk, pandering to America’s pointless plutocracy, and bringing on international isolation and complete collapse. Perhaps their only chance is forming a functional detente with China. China, like all others does not want America to collapse into itself, as that will have dire effects on the whole world.
Anyway, apologies for my long diversion. At this time, Oz has scant opportunity to extricate itself from the prevailing ‘western’ system it find itself in. Thank goodness Labor has introduced the ‘Future Fund’ and other such devices. It provides an opportunity for considered backing of Oz ventures such as ‘early-stage climate and renewable energy startups’ important to the thriving of our whole community.
At this time, I do not see any other Oz pretender for govt putting forward any such plans and contingencies. All they seem to do is blather American-type BS, and short-term cuteness.
@ Clakka: An interesting informative post. Thank you.
The Launchpad funding program is a welcome step toward closing the gap between promising early-stage climate technologies and commercial deployment. Pairing ARENA’s support with the Australian Built 2026 showcase should give homegrown startups stronger visibility and a clearer pathway to investment.