Right now, AI data-centre mega-hubs as large as 350 hectares are being planned across Australia – that’s the equivalent of 175 MCG playing fields.

And the energy they need to fuel them is just as huge: more than the total output of an entire coal plant.

The solution? So-called “shadow grids” built in partnership between the data centres and big gas, where gas-fired power plants are placed directly on site, powering the centres and generating huge emissions in the process.

Today, Ketan Joshi, climate expert and co-author of a new Greenpeace report, on the relationship between fossil fuel companies and data centres, and Australia’s vulnerability in the AI race.


 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

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Guest: Climate expert Ketan Joshi

Photo: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Right now, AI data-centre mega-hubs as large as 350 hectares are being planned across Australia &ndash; that&rsquo;s the equivalent of 175 MCG playing fields.
And the energy they need to fuel them is just as huge: more than the total output of an entire coal plant.
The solution? So-called &ldquo;shadow grids&rdquo; built in partnership between the data centres and big gas, where gas-fired power plants are placed directly on site, powering the centres and generating huge emissions in the process.
Today, Ketan Joshi, climate expert and co-author of a new Greenpeace report, on the relationship between fossil fuel companies and data centres, and Australia&rsquo;s vulnerability in the AI race. 
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Climate expert Ketan Joshi
Photo:&nbsp;REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

An independent daily news show. We feature the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

An independent daily news show. We feature the country&rsquo;s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

Mega data centres in bed with big gas: how fossil fuels are powering the AI boom

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/4f979cf0-6e16-4fbb-9e71-b4600051e535/transcript

Donald Trump said what he wanted for his 80th birthday was world peace

And now, alongside the UFC spectacle on the White House lawn, he appears to have given himself the headline he wanted: a so-called peace deal with Iran.

Or more accurately - a sixty day “pause” – while negotiations continue. 

Today Director of the Australia Institute's International & Security Affairs Program Dr Emma Shortis on the latest end of the war announcement - and what could derail it. 

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Director of the Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program, Dr Emma Shortis

Photo: Bonnie Cash/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM

Donald Trump said what he wanted for his 80th birthday was world peace
And now, alongside the UFC spectacle on the White House lawn, he appears to have given himself the headline he wanted: a so-called peace deal with Iran.
Or more accurately - a sixty day &ldquo;pause&rdquo; &ndash; while negotiations continue.&nbsp;
Today Director of the Australia Institute's International &amp; Security Affairs Program Dr Emma Shortis on the latest end of the war announcement - and what could derail it.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Director of the Australia Institute&rsquo;s International &amp; Security Affairs Program, Dr Emma Shortis
Photo:&nbsp;Bonnie Cash/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM

Deal or no deal? What Trump’s peace plan really means

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/af96c4a4-69ab-47c1-8c49-b46a006a5ae4/transcript

Aukus is the most expensive defence project in Australia’s history; a project, that at its heart has the plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the United States and the United Kingdom. 

But the doubts around it are growing: over the cost, over whether Australia will get the submarines it’s been promised, and over what the deal means for our sovereignty.

Now, a public inquiry, in lieu of parliamentary debate, led by former Labor minister Peter Garrett is putting Aukus under scrutiny. 

Today, Peter Garrett on why he believes Australians deserve answers, and whether it’s too late to walk away. 

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Lead commissioner of the Aukus Inquiry, Peter Garrett

Photo: AAP Image/Con Chronis

Aukus is the most expensive defence project in Australia&rsquo;s history; a project, that at its heart has the plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the United States and the United Kingdom.&nbsp;
But the doubts around it are growing: over the cost, over whether Australia will get the submarines it&rsquo;s been promised, and over what the deal means for our sovereignty.
Now, a public inquiry, in lieu of parliamentary debate, led by former Labor minister Peter Garrett is putting Aukus under scrutiny.&nbsp;
Today, Peter Garrett on why he believes Australians deserve answers, and whether it&rsquo;s too late to walk away.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you enjoy&nbsp;7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Lead commissioner of the Aukus Inquiry, Peter Garrett
Photo:&nbsp;AAP Image/Con Chronis

Peter Garrett on Aukus, politics and the fight for “the soul of the country”

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/82bcc267-39ad-40b0-9d6a-b467005d7339/transcript

When Professor Christian Downie appeared before a Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation, he warned that Australia is facing coordinated campaigns designed not to debate climate solutions, but to stall them.

Professor Downie has spent years inside boardrooms and the lobbying world studying how these campaigns are built – tracing the billions spent on messaging by lobby groups, PR firms and think tanks – and outlining what he calls “the climate obstruction playbook”. It’s a strategy refined in Washington and increasingly echoed in Australia.

Today, Professor at ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance, Christian Downie, on how the obstruction playbook has been so successful in stopping action on climate change.

This episode was originally published in October, 2025.

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

Socials:Stay in touch with us on Instagram

Guest: Professor at ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance and Director of the Governing Energy Transition Lab, Christian Downie

Photo: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

When Professor Christian Downie appeared before a Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation, he warned that Australia is facing coordinated campaigns designed not to debate climate solutions, but to stall them.
Professor Downie has spent years inside boardrooms and the lobbying world studying how these campaigns are built &ndash; tracing the billions spent on messaging by lobby groups, PR firms and think tanks &ndash; and outlining what he calls &ldquo;the climate obstruction playbook&rdquo;. It&rsquo;s a strategy refined in Washington and increasingly echoed in Australia.
Today, Professor at ANU&rsquo;s School of Regulation and Global Governance, Christian Downie, on how the obstruction playbook has been so successful in stopping action on climate change.
This episode was originally published in October, 2025.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Professor at ANU&rsquo;s School of Regulation and Global Governance and Director of the Governing Energy Transition Lab, Christian Downie
Photo:&nbsp;REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

The ‘playbook’ lobbyists use to delay climate action

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/b5c1d1de-ed95-480c-a5ea-b467005c8ca0/transcript

Mega data centres in bed with big gas: how fossil fuels are powering the AI boom

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