Aw man, I was hoping you weren't going to say it was a conspiracy.

Who is the conspiracy between? Presumably the mining companies, gas companies, and heads of nations all over the world.

If fossil fuels really are more expensive than renewables, then our energy companies have zero incentive to be part of the conspiracy. Instead, they and their shareholders are actually the victims here, since the government is stopping them (somehow) from increasing their profits.

It just doesn't make sense. I know a lot of people repeat the claim, and no doubt studies are available from all sorts of places, but it just doesn't fit the evidence. There would be no Nord Stream 2 ($20bn), no Scarborough LNG project ($16bn).

If renewables were actually cheaper, there would be no gas crisis in Europe. Germany would say, "well, great, let's save our country a fortune by closing down the gas plants and switching to renewables".

I mean, I hope it is a conspiracy. If it is, the ALP would be able to say "fossil fuels are over", snap their fingers, let the free market choose the cheaper renewables, and bam.