The regions are key to Australia's enormous emissions reduction potential. They also stand to gain from its equally enormous clean energy and industry opportunities.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australia and its regions have incredible advantages: abundant renewable resources, a strong industrial history, a skilled workforce and established trading partners, ready and waiting for our green products.
Despite these advantages, the country's heavy industries have been defined by many as "hard to abate" - in other words, it is considered difficult to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. But that thinking is out of date: it is rather that they are "late to abate".
Climateworks co-convened the four-year Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative which found it is possible to eliminate over 90 per cent of emissions in Australia's major heavy industry supply chains of iron and steel, aluminium, liquified natural gas, chemicals and mining of other metals such as copper and lithium.
The other good news is Australia's heavy industries and associated emissions are clustered in a handful of places across the country. Five industrial regions - Illawarra, Hunter, Kwinana, Gladstone and the Pilbara - account for one-eighth of Australia's total emissions. That's equivalent to the emissions of every car and light commercial vehicle across the country.
That is why taking a place-based "Net Zero Industrial Precinct" approach makes so much sense for Australia, alongside other national and state policies. The idea is relatively simple - focus on where the emissions and industries are and supercharge them with plenty of renewable energy, green hydrogen and shared infrastructure and take advantage of their existing skilled workforce. A place-based approach also allows for the costs, risks and benefits to be shared, and actions to be coordinated.
Net Zero Industrial Precincts are a major revitalisation opportunity for our industrial heartlands to ensure they - and the communities they support - remain competitive in a decarbonised world.
It wasn't that long ago that solar panels were considered a novel, emerging technology. I can remember in 2010 when Climateworks Centre showcased different low carbon solutions for Australia and solar ranked behind energy efficiency, transport and carbon farming.
Today, close to 3 million Australian homes have rooftop solar, supplying over 10 per cent of the country's power. We have the highest amount of solar PV per person in the world and a renewable energy target of 82 per cent by 2030 for the national electricity grid.
Earlier this month the federal budget showcased Future Made in Australia, a framework focused on developing wind and solar in addition to clean industries like green hydrogen and critical minerals. Australia is starting to focus on decarbonising not just the grid we have today but the economy we want tomorrow - one with prosperous clean industries that generations of Australians can work in and benefit from.
Australia's national net zero legislation is now two years old, and older for all the state and territory governments and many companies and financial institutions. New national laws will require large companies' financial reports to include their emissions; those of their suppliers and customers; their forward targets to reduce emissions and their transition plan to get them there. Having agreed to net zero targets, now every country, sector and company needs a plan to achieve it.
That's where the Australian government's sector decarbonisation plans come into play.
The government is developing national net zero sector plans for the major parts of our economy that matter for emissions reduction: Electricity and energy, Industry, Resources, Transport, Built environment and Agriculture and land.
There are a few key things that need to be taken into account when developing and implementing these plans. To solve for what the science demands, they should align ambition with the 1.5 degree Celsius global warming limit in the Paris Agreement.
There are also many interdependencies between sectors. Most obvious is the energy and electricity sector, which must move quickly to build the renewable energy needed to power the decarbonisation of other sectors, including the built environment, industry and transport.
Management textbooks say when you set your strategy you make a plan and provide targets and resources to those responsible for implementing it. We are now in the era where net zero strategy, targets and plans are being tackled by nations, sectors and companies.
It won't be long until we can reflect on a time when industrial decarbonisation felt out of reach, and point to Australia's world-leading Net Zero Industrial Precincts and sectors with green supply chains producing and exporting green energy, green metals and critical minerals around the world.
- Anna Skarbek is chief executive of Climateworks Centre, an independent not-for-profit within Monash University. Anna is also an advisory board member for the Net Zero Agency Advisory and founding board director of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
