A Just Energy Transition: Law, Economics, and Public Policy

QUT Energy Transition Centre

Venue: GP-C-405, QUT Gardens Point Campus

Friday, 21 November 2025

Overview

This symposium will focus upon achieving a just energy transition in Australia. The Future Made in Australia Act 2024 (Cth) has sought to help make Australia a renewable energy superpower, and make the country a part of the global net zero economy. The Federal Budget investment focuses on refining and processing critical minerals, producing renewable hydrogen, exploring production of green metals and low carbon liquid fuels and supporting targeted manufacturing of clean energy technologies including solar and value-adding in the battery supply chain. There has also been much debate at a state level in Queensland as to how best manage an energy transition to achieve the best economic, environmental, and climate outcomes.

This symposium will also explore the policy debate about Australia's circular economy. The Productivity Commission has been investigating Australia’s opportunities in the circular economy to improve materials productivity and efficiency in ways that benefit the economy and the environment. The Productivity Commission has noted that Australia’s materials productivity, circularity rate and waste recovery rate have increased slightly over the past decade. The Productivity Commission notes that updating regulations to level the playing field for new technologies and capabilities would support the uptake of circular activities. The Productivity Commission has submitted its final report to the Federal Government, and is awaiting a response to its recommendations.

This symposium will investigate matters of information justice. In light of litigation over misleading and deceptive conduct, the Australian Senate has been conducting a long-running inquiry into greenwashing. It is exploring legislative options to protect consumers from greenwashing in Australia. It is also exploring comparative and international approaches to the problem of greenwashing - such as the European Union's Green Claims Directive. The Australian Senate has also established a select committee to investigate the prevalence of, motivations behind and impacts of misinformation and disinformation related to climate change and energy. This symposium will also consider how companies can engage in credible, substantiated green marketing, branding, and communications.

This symposium will also explore matters of climate justice. It will provide a briefing on the International Court of Justice decision on the obligations of states with respect to climate change. It will also discuss climate litigation by Torres Strait Islander communities in the Torres Strait Eight matter in the UN Human Rights Committee and the Pabai Pabai v Commonwealth case in the Federal Court of Australia. It will also consider the proceedings of the 30th UN climate conference, which takes place from 10-21 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil (COP 30). It will also explore the competing bids between Australia and the Pacific, and Turkiye to host COP 31.

This symposium will investigate Australia's First Nations Clean Energy Strategy. This Strategy is a five year national framework for action which help governments, industry, and communities to work together to create opportunities for First Nations peoples. The three goals of the strategy are to power First Nations communities with clean energy; enable equitable partnerships. and achieve economic benefits with First Nations peoples. This symposium will also consider larger questions in respect of Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous intellectual property, and Indigenous rights.

This event is hosted by the QUT Energy Transition Centre. The Centre's vision is to be at the forefront of the global energy transition, pioneering innovative solutions to secure sovereign supply lines of critical minerals and energy technologies, promote renewable energy adoption, enhance energy security, and ultimately provide real world opportunities to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The Centre's co-directors are Professor Sara Couperthwaite and Professor Raja Jurdak.

Image

WikiMedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Installing_Solar_Panels_(7336033672).jpg

Brian Lawson and Kenesaw Burwell work on panels that the Energy Department is using to leverage a Power Purchase Agreement with Sun Edison and Xcel Energy. | Photo by Dennis Schroeder. This image is a work of a United States Department of Energy employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

Welcome to the Country

QUT acknowledges the Turrbal and Yugara as the First Nations owners of the lands where QUT now stands. We pay respect to their Elders, lores, customs and creation spirits. We recognise that these lands have always been places of teaching, research and learning. QUT acknowledges the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people play within the QUT community.

Speakers and Chairs

Dr Muhammad Zaheer Abbas, School of Law, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Finbar Curran, Flynn Nixon, Claire Reid, and Zoe Zhang, UQ Pro Bono

Angela Dahlke, QUT Centre for Data Science

Dr Kenan Degirmenci, School of Information Systems, Faculty of Science, QUT

Hannah Gardiner, Queensland Renewable Energy Council

Associate Professor Sarah Holcombe, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, the University of Queensland

Dr Michelle Maloney, Australian Earth Laws Alliance

Dr Francis Nona, Indigenous Medical Education, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, QUT

Dr Sohanur Rahman, School of Accountancy, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Professor Matthew Rimmer, School of Law, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Professor Nicole Rogers, Faculty of Law, Bond University

Carla Fagundes Sangiovanni, PhD candidate, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Professor Tim Schork, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, QUT (tbc)

Fien Van den Steen, Sustainability Strategy Manager, Carbon Asset Solutions

Professor Christoph Nedopil Wang, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University

Professor Clevo Wilson, School of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Jing Zhang, the University of Queensland

Agenda

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Opening of the event

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

1. Innovation Policy

Chair

Professor Clevo Wilson, School of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Speakers

Future Made in Australia? Evaluating Australia's 2024 Green Energy related Policies and its Potential Impact on Asia

Professor Christoph Nedopil Wang, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University

Jing Zhang, the University of Queensland

Queensland Renewable Energy Council

Hannah Gardiner, Queensland Renewable Energy Council

Green Patents

Dr Sohanur Rahman, School of Accountancy, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Morning Tea

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

2. The Circular Economy and the Right to Repair

Chair

Dr Muhammad Zaheer Abbas, School of Law, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Speakers:

A Critique of Circularity

Professor Clevo Wilson, School of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

How might IP be an enabler of Australia's Transition to a more Circular Economy?

Angela Dahlke, QUT Centre for Data Science

Sustainable Architecture and Circular Cities

Professor Tim Schork, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, QUT (tbc)

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

3. Information Justice

Chair

Angela Dahlke, QUT Centre for Data Science

Speakers

The Australian Senate Inquiry into Greenwashing

Professor Matthew Rimmer, School of Law, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

The Australian Senate Inquiry into Climate Misinformation and Disinformation

Finbar Curran, Flynn Nixon, Claire Reid, and Zoe Zhang, UQ Pro Bono

EU Green Claims Directive

Fien Van den Steen, Sustainability Strategy Manager, Carbon Asset Solutions

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Lunch

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

4. Climate Justice

Chair: Fien Van den Steen, Sustainability Strategy Manager, Carbon Asset Solutions

Speakers:

‘Unlawful by Definition’: The Role of International Law in a Planetary Existential Crisis

Professor Nicole Rogers, Faculty Of Law, Bond University

Indigenous-led Rights-based Approaches to Climate Litigation: the Torres Strait Eight and Pabai Pabai v Commonwealth

Dr Francis Nona, Indigenous Medical Education, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, QUT

The COP30 Negotiations in Brazil

Carla Fagundes Sangiovanni, PhD candidate, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Afternoon Tea

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

5. First Nations Clean Energy Strategy and Indigenous Knowledge

Chair

Professor Matthew Rimmer, School of Law, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT

Speakers

Embedding First Nations Knowledge in a Just Energy Transition

Dr Kenan Degirmenci, School of Information Systems, Faculty of Science, QUT

First Nations and the Energy Transition: Rhetoric, Risks and Opportunities

Associate Professor Sarah Holcombe, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, the University of Queensland

A Declaration of Peace for Indigenous Australians and Nature

Dr Michelle Maloney, Australian Earth Laws Alliance