Thom Woodroofe - Power, Prosperity & Planet

Name: Thom Woodroofe - Power, Prosperity & Planet
Start: 2026-05-04T18:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-05-04T18:00:00+10:00
Location: Upstairs at Gleebooks

About

6pm for 6.30pm Monday 4 May

Thom Woodroofe will be in conversation with Matt Keane and John Grimes, moderated by Lenore Taylor

Australia’s climate debate has long focused on three central pillars: clean power, future economic prosperity and protecting the planet. After nearly two decades of “the climate wars”, we’ve heard the calls: we must decarbonise our energy system, we must develop our green industries and clean tech, and we must do more to keep global temperature increases within safe limits.

Yet while climate change affects us all, the arguments for climate action are rarely framed in terms of the impact on ordinary Australians. In the face of high electricity and petrol prices, how can more households benefit from cheaper renewable energy and electric vehicles? Given our continued reliance on fossil fuel exports, how can Australia avoid falling off an economic cliff in the coming decades? With swathes of the country at risk of climate-related disaster, how can we enhance our resilience and avoid insurance loss? And what are the real benefits at home of seeking to be an international climate leader?

In this clear-sighted volume, Woodroofe outlines why the next wave of climate and energy policy in Australia must focus intently on middle Australia, designing policies that make sense from the Cabinet Room to every lounge room across the mortgage belts and beyond. The price – economically, politically and environmentally – is too great if we do not.

Thom Woodroofe is a Senior International Fellow with the Smart Energy Council. He played a key role in securing the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, including helping establish the High Ambition Coalition of progressive nations. He has since worked as chief of staff to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, for the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in Washington DC, and forged a backchannel for US–China climate talks during his time at the Asia Society in New York. Thom studied diplomacy as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and – thanks to solar power – grew up off-the-grid in regional Victoria.

Matt Kean is Chair of the Climate Change Authority and Director, Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Wollemi Capital. He was the previously the NSW Member for Hornsby, from 2011–2024. Kean was most recently the NSW Government Shadow Minister for Health. He was Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal Party from August 2022 until March 2023. Throughout his 13-year political career, Kean also held the ministries of Innovation and Better Regulation, Treasury, Energy and Environment. As Treasurer and Energy Minister of NSW, Mr Kean championed climate action that is in the best interests of households and businesses. In 2020, he delivered the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, a 20-year plan that spurs private investment in renewable energy while reducing emissions and power bills for the people of NSW.

John Grimes has been Chief Executive of the Smart Energy Council since 2008. John is a bold advocate for the smart energy industry and sits on a number of expert reference committees and boards providing advice to several state governments and the energy sector. John started his career as an officer in the Air Force and went on to found and grow a number of companies, including a startup company he took to a successful listing on the ASX with a market capitalisation in excess of $30m. His most recent company was in the environmental sector with operations in Australia, the US and the Middle East. John has a passion for the solar, storage and the smart energy industry. He is regularly called upon by the media to provide relevant and independent comment in these areas.

The conversation will be moderated by Lenore Taylor; award winning journalist and former longtime editor of Guardian Australia.