Green energy is a bigger opportunity for Australia than the resources boom. Let’s not waste it
I f Australia seizes the opportunity offered by the world’s transition to zero net emissions it can repeat the experience of the China resources boom that peaked about 10 years ago. But this time the opportunity can be sustained for some decades – rather than boom and bust – and we can manage it better for productivity and broadly based development.
The logic is simple.
Australia is the world’s largest exporter of gas and coal taken together. Many focus on the costs of losing what has been our large comparative advantage. But two key points are often overlooked.
First, Australia has the world’s best combinations of wind and solar energy resources, and it has enormous sources of biomass for a zero emissions chemical industry.
Think about that.
The world is moving to a zero emissions economy – albeit at an uncertain speed – and we can have the lowest-cost zero emissions electricity available for large scale economic development in the world.
Second, we have among the largest resources of the minerals needed in the energy transition. Renewable energy is not easily exported so it makes sense for industry to relocate to the source. Put simply, more of Australia’s minerals should now be processed in Australia.
Australia’s advantages relative to the rest of the world are so significant that utilising them on a large scale would materially improve the prospects of achieving the world’s climate objectives.
A net zero Australian economy will reduce global emissions by just over 1%. But if Australia successfully seizes the economic advantage in exporting zero emissions goods then this can reduce global emissions by around another 7%.
Australia covers about 5% of the Earth’s land surface; supplying about 8% of the world’s renewable energy
Read more on theguardian.com
