28 Oct 2026
My first job was driving at a local farm near where I grew up in West Gippsland. Pre-podcast so pretty boring!
I realised I wanted to focus my career on energy efficiency in my late twenties as I worked through my masters degree. I wanted to work on climate issues, but realised quickly that that climate change is a very big topic and that specialising a little would be helpful. I ended up doing a minor thesis on energy efficiency financing, which helped a lot when I applied for a job at the Energy Efficiency Council. The rest is history!
I seriously considered doing a masters of publishing. In an alternate timeline I’m cobbling together a living as a writer and editor.
I recently attended the pre-COP meeting in Fiji. Hearing directly from our pacific family was a sobering reminder that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is an existential issue for many nations in our region. On the podcast I co-host we released a whole show that is made up of clips of Pacific people addressing the Pre-COP – you can listen to it here.
Last month a big coalition of national organisations launched the Electrify Australia campaign. It feels long overdue: sometimes it feels like Australia is stuck in a never-ending argument about the role of renewables in our electricity system. It’s an important debate, but we need much more focus on electrifying the Australian economy. Homes and businesses that directly use petrol, diesel and gas will be so much better off using efficient electric equipment.
When I’m feeling frustrated that change isn’t happening fast enough, I remind myself that cheaper, better technology will win, and that we have it. Solar, batteries, heat pumps, induction cooktops, electric vehicles – all this technology is simply better than the fossil powered alternatives. And rapid learning rates on these technologies have pushed them rapidly down the cost curve, and has given us a rock solid economic argument for the transition.
If I could wave a magic wand and bring in three new policies on energy efficiency and electrification, I’d phase out gas in new and existing homes, I’d spin up big national effort on electrifying low temperature process heat, and I’d expand vehicle standards to support freight electrification.
Luke Menzel is CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, the peak body for energy efficiency, electrification and energy flexibility. Luke is also a Non Executive Director at the Australian Energy Market Operator, and a member of a variety of state and federal ministerial councils and advisory bodies. He has led the EEC's annual delegation to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties since 2022. Luke is also co-host of popular climate and energy podcast Let Me Sum Up