David Fickling
Washington Post
Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Past articles by David:
A Torrid Summer Risks Stalling Asia’s Climate Goals
Predictions of a season of heatwaves have sent coal stockpiles soaring. Eventually, all that carbon will be burned. → Read More
The Oil Industry’s Unhappy Marriage Is Starting To Face Facts
There may be a natural antagonism between the two bodies, but they’ll need to suffer the decline of crude together. → Read More
Oil Frackers Hold a Crucial Piece of the Net Zero Puzzle
Technology used to produce bad old fossil fuels is now being turned to clean renewable purposes. What matters is how companies manage the risks. → Read More
This Zombie Climate Tech Has Earned Its Chance to Shamble On
Carbon capture and storage has never really gotten off the ground. Now it’s found some backers, which is not a bad thing. → Read More
China’s Coal Mining Boom Is Running on Fumes
The pressure to bulletproof coal supplies is pricing it out of the market. → Read More
Saudi Aramco Doesn’t Believe Its Own Rhetoric on Oil Demand
The petro giant protests too much. Rather than blaming environmentalists and ESG policies, it should open its checkbook and lift production if the future really is that bright. → Read More
We’re Not Even Close to Running Out of Green Minerals
Far from being a prophecy of doom, predictions of catastrophic shortfalls forced the market to behave exactly as it should. → Read More
Don’t Let Shein Be the Model for China’s Solar Power Boom
Beijing’s formidable solar supply chain may help decarbonize the world, but it’s falling short at home. → Read More
Biodegradable Plastics May End Up Doing More Harm Than Good
The green credentials of bioplastics are making consumers complacent. But the way they break down is a risk to the environment. → Read More
Australia Should Junk, Not Replace, Its National Holiday
Rather than focusing on hard-fought culture wars, the nation should abandon the idea of attaching political meaning to official days off. → Read More
Shipping’s Oil Era Is Coming to an End
It’s a good start, but it’s not the holy grail of decarbonization. That would entail plugging the industry into the emerging hydrogen economy. → Read More
China’s Covid Reopening Won’t Be Enough to Save Oil Markets
That would require an improvement in global growth, as well as a change in Chinese domestic conditions. Neither will happen any time soon. → Read More
Here’s to Crypto Going the Way of Esperanto
Now that its much-trumpeted potential in the financial universe has been debunked, blockchain may find a place as a source of eccentric pursuit much like the made-up language. → Read More
Governments Need to Put Their Energy Papers in Order
The UK’s flip-flop with onshore wind demonstrates how contradictory regulations are stalling the green transition. → Read More
Elon Musk’s Impossible Electric Truck Is Getting the Last Laugh
Batteries as heavy as an elephant are not ideal for long-haul trucking, but non-diesel eighteen-wheelers may have found a niche. → Read More
The World Will Never Agree to Phase Out Petroleum. And That’s OK
There’s a new divide in climate talks. It’s no longer the gap between rich and poor that matters, but the one between fossil fuel importers and exporters. → Read More
Europe Isn’t Ready for Long-Term Commitment With LNG
Suppliers are happy to sign up new customers at reasonable prices — if they agree to keep buying 15 years from now. → Read More
China’s Industrial Machine Chokes
At a time when the government is touting the potential of the domestic market, all the evidence is that local consumption is moribund. → Read More
Even Central Banks Are Buying Gold for the Zombie Apocalypse
Governments in developing economies are building up their bullion holdings as trust breaks down. → Read More
Climate Change Costs Are Eating Up the Money to Avert It
That won’t change until the rich world treats poorer nations as allies rather than debtors. → Read More