Rapid response climate and energy briefings

Direct access to expert sources and insights on urgent energy and climate issues

The Monash Climate Communication Hub is launching a series of rapid response briefings to connect journalists, NGOs and public-facing organisations with leading researchers on timely energy and climate topics.

Through a series of live online events, the Hub brings together researchers who can speak clearly to the technical, social, economic and policy dimensions of fast-moving developments. Each briefing is designed to support accurate, accessible and well-informed public communication at moments when expert context matters most.

RSVP for an upcoming briefing

Past briefings

Stress-testing Australia’s energy system

Date: Thursday 16 April 2026
Time: 2-3pm
Location: Zoom (link will be sent via calendar invitation to registered attendees)

The discussion explored what a genuine fuel shortage could look like in Australia, how consumers are responding to higher prices, and where economic and regional impacts are likely to emerge first. It will also examine Australia’s position in a constrained global market, including the role of international contracts and alliances in determining access to fuel.

The session provided journalists and communicators with deeper context and insight into both short-term responses and longer-term structural risks. Panelists discussed what to watch in the coming months and what signals may indicate changes in behaviour, economic pressure or system stress.

The panel explored:

• The extent to which higher fuel prices have changed household behaviour
• How costs are currently being absorbed and when/if they will lead to spikes in food and consumer prices.
• The reliability of international energy partners when domestic supply pressures tempt countries to prioritise national reserves over export contracts
• What an effective and equitable rationing or prioritisation system looks like if Australia faced a genuine fuel shortage
• Whether the current crisis provides the necessary friction to speed up the move to EVs and renewables, or if it depletes the capital needed for the transition.
• Which indicators communicators should watch over the next 3-6 months to predict the next phase of the crisis

RSVP to attend

Experts

Data centres and Australia’s energy transition: Addressing the rapid integration of high-consumption data centres into the grid

Date: Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Time: 12-1pm
Location: Zoom (link will be sent via calendar invitation to registered attendees)

Following the release of the Australian Government’s National AI Plan, attention is turning to the infrastructure required to support rapid growth in artificial intelligence – particularly the expansion of large-scale data centres.

These facilities are energy-intensive. As global technology companies accelerate investment in AI, electricity demand from data centres is expected to rise sharply in many countries, including Australia. This raises questions about how large new electricity loads interact with the energy transition.

What does growing demand from AI infrastructure mean for Australia’s electricity system? Who pays for the generation, transmission and storage needed to support these developments? And how can data centres be integrated into the grid in ways that support, rather than complicate, the transition to cleaner energy?

This briefing brought together leading experts in energy systems, economics and the social impacts of digital infrastructure to discuss how Australia’s emerging AI sector may shape the future of the electricity system.

The discussion examined what current policy settings suggest about energy demand, system planning and investment, and what journalists should watch as AI infrastructure expands.

The panel explored:

• Whether rapid growth in data centres and AI infrastructure could accelerate or slow Australia's energy transition, and what the National AI Plan means for the pace of change
• How the government's new expectations framework for AI infrastructure will work in practice and what it signals about the role data centres should play in Australia's energy system
• What large new electricity loads from hyperscale data centres mean for the grid including impacts on system reliability
• Who should pay for the infrastructure required to support these development and whether costs will or should flow through to household energy bills
• Whether data centres could help support the grid, for example through demand flexibility, load management or aligning electricity use with renewable generation
• The broader environmental footprint of data centres, including energy use, emissions and water demand, and how these impacts should be managed
• Community engagement with and attitudes towards data centres in Australia

RSVP to attend

Experts

Australia’s energy security in a time of conflict

Date: Thursday 26 March 2026
Time: 2pm
Location: Zoom, link will be sent via calendar invitation to RSVPs

As international conflict and sudden disruption reshape energy systems around the world, what does energy security mean for Australia now? What are we learning?

This briefing brought together three experts to discuss Australia’s energy security in a time of conflict, including what current events reveal about resilience, risk and future energy choices at both the national and household level.

The panel explored:

• what recent global disruptions mean for Australia’s energy system
• what lessons Australia could learn about energy security
• how energy security connects to affordability, reliability and resilience
• what stories can be told about the broader transition

Experts