Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled plans to revitalise Australian manufacturing by making more things here with clean energy and Australian resources. This will include targeted finance, and a new law titled the ‘Future Made in Australia’ Act.
This is a direct response to the global shift to cut climate pollution and a big win for climate organisations like ours, which are championing more clean energy and clean industries to set up Australia for generations to come.
What do we know so far?
The ‘Future Made in Australia Act’ aims to revitalise manufacturing in Australia by turbocharging clean manufacturing, industry and energy such as solar and wind. This will include government support for specific, local industries to boost investment, create jobs and seize the opportunity of an Australian-made future.
“This is exactly the sort of leadership Australia needs to tackle climate pollution, generate clean jobs, and ensure a brighter future for our kids. In the US we’ve seen similar policies dramatically ramp up investment and create tens of thousands of new jobs. As one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world, this is a huge opportunity for Australia.” – Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie
The Climate Council has a plan for how Australia can cut climate pollution by 75% by 2030 across all sectors of our economy, and set up Australia for success for generations to come.
What will a future made in Australia mean for climate pollution?
Details about this plan will be revealed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are the top three things you should know about the announcement:
- Supercharging clean industries: The world is going through a new industrial revolution. The industries that we need to slash climate pollution – like manufacturing batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, or clean ways to make steel, aluminium and other other essential materials – are all scaling up. It’s important that Australia responds to these massive changes taking place all over the world, and seizes the opportunities they present us.
The Act will underpin the work of the new Net Zero Authority, which directs investment in renewable, sustainable energy projects and retrains workers so we have the right skills and people available for growing clean industries.
- Building on existing progress: Australia can play a big role in this once-in-a-lifetime shift towards a global clean economy. We’re on the right track, with 40% of the power in our main electricity grid now coming from renewables and investment ramping up in industries like green hydrogen and solar panel manufacturing. With the building blocks for new clean industries in place, we can do a lot more to power our next era of prosperity and slash climate pollution.
This Act will direct government support in order to speed up investment in targeted areas, and provide certainty for Australian businesses, while building on the Government’s previous investment announcements, such as:
- $2 billion towards the Hydrogen Headstart
- $1 billion Solar Sunshot program
- $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund
- $20 billion for Rewiring the Nation
- Slashing climate pollution: when governments invest in smart ways that build on our national advantages in clean energy and manufacturing know-how, we can slash climate pollution and grow new clean industries. Under Climate Council’s detailed plan to cut climate pollution we can more than halve industrial climate pollution by 2030.
The world is already moving to cut climate pollution, with the United States, Japan, the European Union and many more countries taking big strides to repower their industries with clean energy. As one of the sunniest and windiest countries on Earth, now is Australia’s chance to seize the decade and make the most of our abundant clean energy resources and deep manufacturing know-how.