A greater role for governments through direct investment in clean technology industries could support climate change targets and jobs, the think tank says.
Coal, iron ore and gas, the top sources of budget revenue, need to be replaced with clean technology production lines with immediate and bold government support, according to the Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) report released on Wednesday. .
BZE said the growing global demand for emissions-reducing technologies to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees is huge, and gaps in the supply chain create significant opportunities for new entrants such as Australia.
Australia could manufacture batteries, heat pumps, solar panels and wind towers and become part of a growing supply chain for electric trucks, cars and vans.
Immediately expanding land-based clean technology supply chains, rather than continuing to export emissions, could generate $215 billion in revenue and create 53,000 jobs by 2035, according to the think tank. It is said that there is a sex.
In regions that were once reliant on coal, renewable energy industrial zones could coexist with manufacturers of electric vehicle chargers, batteries, electric buses, mining equipment, wind farm assembly lines, and more.
Beyond Zero Emissions chief executive Heidi Lee said: “Wind power and batteries are the most available and impactful opportunities to grow Australia's onshore manufacturing industry.”
For Australia to meet its own climate targets, it will need to increase solar panels by more than three times, wind power by nine times, batteries by 16 times, heat pumps by 27 times and commercial electric vehicles by a factor of 27, as well as commercial electric vehicles. , found in the report.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said the renewable energy manufacturing and export industry will need a dedicated center to lead research and build public trust.
ACF also called for eliminating fuel tax credits for coal and gas producers, calling them “incentives for pollution,” and reinvesting the saved taxpayer funds into a $100 billion renewable industry package.
Prime Minister Antony Albanese announced on Wednesday that the plan would “move Australia to the top of international value chains”, including $566 million over 10 years for geosciences to map what lies beneath Australia's soil and ocean floor. announced a plan to raise the
Using clean energy to power heavy industry will be a “clear priority” in the federal budget, he said.
But BZE has joined calls for next Tuesday's Budget to include production credits to bridge the gap between Australia and other low-cost processing, refining and manufacturing.
Australia ranks highly for critical commodities such as lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt and vanadium, and has a particularly strong ability to 'drill and ship' feedstock minerals at the start of the supply chain.
Local manufacturers may assemble clean technology from expensive imported components at the other end of the supply chain, but the country does little in between, the report found.
For batteries, for example, Australia typically sends raw materials overseas, where almost all of the value (96%) is recovered during processing and component manufacturing.
The exception is Energy Renaissance and its factory, which will be built in 2021 in Tomago, New South Wales, for large-scale manufacturing of battery systems tailored to harsh and hot regional conditions in defence, mining, transport and agriculture. it was done.
“We're proud to be Australian owned and manufactured. Our batteries are made right here in the Hunter,” CEO Brian Craighead said.
“While demand for our products is rapidly increasing, there are still some barriers to overcome,” he said.
