Portfolio — 10 April 2026

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mr Bowen, issued three media releases on 10 April combining daily fuel supply monitoring with a substantive expansion of the Australian Carbon Credit Unit framework — the clearest signal yet that the portfolio is managing an immediate supply crisis and a longer-term emissions agenda in parallel.

On fuel supply, the day's figures show continued, if incremental, improvement: 192 service stations nationally remained without diesel, representing 2.4 per cent of the 7,940 stations tracked, with New South Wales accounting for 97 of those outages and 19 stations carrying no fuel of any form [TA-260410-climat-09322a843b7a]. The daily publication of these figures reflects an ongoing monitoring posture that the Minister has maintained since the supply disruption began.

Contracted deliveries through Export Finance Australia spot cargo arrangements with Viva and Ampol are reported to cover national fuel demand through May and into early June, and domestic reserves currently stand at 39 days petrol, 30 days jet fuel, and 29 days diesel [TA-260410-climat-09322a843b7a]. The three-stream approach the portfolio has settled into — near-term supply continuity via bilateral and spot-cargo financing, medium-term reserve management, and long-term structural reform — is now visible as a coherent design rather than an ad hoc response.

On the geopolitical dimension, the Minister addressed Strait of Hormuz risk by explicitly deferring to the Foreign Minister and Defence Minister on strategic positioning, while affirming Australia's support for freedom of navigation and noting that Southeast Asian refiners in Singapore and Malaysia have signalled continued commitment to reliable energy supply [TA-260410-climat-b9290ee0d8f3].

The cross-portfolio delineation is deliberate: the Minister is holding the energy security lane while leaving the diplomatic and military framing to his colleagues.

The ACCU announcements represent the most consequential new policy signal of the day. Two new methods for savanna fire management have been finalised, enabling Indigenous and regional landholders to earn increased carbon credits by shifting existing projects to methods that account for carbon stored in specific savanna vegetation [TA-260410-climat-9909bfa9e616].

Two further methods are in active development: a substantially remade livestock method incorporating feed additives designed to reduce enteric methane emissions, and an updated alternative waste method to divert mixed solid waste from landfill — both intended to generate new revenue streams for farmers and waste management businesses [TA-260410-climat-9909bfa9e616].

The livestock method is notable for its agricultural cross-portfolio dimension: feed additive technology sits at the intersection of climate and agriculture policy, and its commercialisation through the ACCU framework would represent a meaningful income diversification pathway for the farm sector. The waste method similarly carries cross-portfolio implications for environment and local government.

Neither method has yet been finalised, and the records do not specify a timeline for completion.