Australia is denying the inevitable by continuing to encourage coal investments as stated by Jim Barry, global head of BlackRocks’s infrastructure investment group.
Barry also said that coal is dead and anyone looking at coal beyond 10-years is gambling very seriously. Barry is planning on investing in Australian renewable energy projects and acknowledged that it was hard for politicians not to do something with resources like coal when they were available. He also said that he did not think there was a long-term potential in Indian conglomerate Adani’s proposed $16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine.
Global investments in the renewable energy industry have gone up to more than US$300B annually from just $20 B ten years ago.
US-headquartered BlackRock is actively looking for Australian renewable energy investments to add to its new global renewable power fund, which is expected to reach about US$1.7B, 10% of the fund expected to be granted in Australia.