Manufacturing Australia welcomes Net Zero 2050 commitment.

News | 26 October 2021

Low emissions manufacturing a profound opportunity for Australia

Manufacturing Australia today welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to Net Zero Emissions by 2050, saying a carefully managed transition to net zero is fundamentally in the national interest.

“Australia has profound opportunities to create and retain high quality jobs, grow its manufacturing sector and re-shore capabilities lost to imports, through a carefully managed transition to low emissions manufacturing,” said Manufacturing Australia CEO, Ben Eade.

“To do this, we must overcome three key hurdles: proving, scaling up and reducing the costs of low emissions manufacturing technologies, building critical enabling infrastructure and aggressively reducing the costs of delivered, clean, electricity.”

Manufacturing Australia supports the Federal Government’s emphasis on these shared priorities.

“Australia has clear competitive advantages in clean energy resources, technologies and capabilities, alongside strengths in energy-intensive manufacturing industries. Combining the two will create lasting benefit for the nation long into the future,” Mr Eade said.

Mr Eade said Australia’s manufacturing capabilities are fundamentally good for the nation, employing more than 1.3 million people directly and indirectly, and accounting for more than 5.6% of GDP, 22% of exports and 27% of R&D expenditure. Emissions intensity in Australian manufacturing had reduced by 1.1% per year since 1990, as Australian manufacturers invested in short, medium and long term emissions reduction projects.

“Manufacturing has a key role to play in Australia’s low emissions future. To achieve deep and lasting emissions reduction, we must scale breakthrough technologies and dramatically lower the costs of new technologies until they converge with the cost of existing processes.”

“Direct electrification using clean energy, green hydrogen as a feedstock, green hydrogen for heating and carbon capture, usage and storage are all promising and exciting manufacturing technologies.”

“Our challenge now is to mature and prove them at scale, and work with governments to bring the costs down. We look forward to working with Federal, State and Territory governments alike to advance that ambition.”

Contact

Ben Eade
02 6198 3285