The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced the launch of a new initiative bringing together a number of major Australian businesses and industry stakeholders to explore pathways to reducing emissions.
The Agency said it had allocated $300,000 to ClimateWorks Australia to assist in the establishment of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI).
“The Australian Industry ETI brings together key industry stakeholders from hard-to-abate sectors to explore solutions that can help them reduce their emissions across their supply chains, and increase long term competitiveness through transitioning to clean energy solutions,” ARENA said.
“Independent not-for-profit ClimateWorks, along with co-convenors Climate-KIC and research partners CSIRO and the Rocky Mountain Institute have undertaken preliminary research and will work with industry participants to develop a practical program to fill research gaps, identify challenges and develop projects for implementation,” it said.
“The initiative will focus on five supply chains which include iron and steel, aluminium and bauxite, liquefied natural gas, other metals (such as lithium, copper and nickel) and chemicals including plastics, fertilisers and explosives.”
ARENA said that together, the sectors represented more than a quarter of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions and approximately $160 billion in exports annually.
“The initiative aims to set Australian industry up for a successful transition to a decarbonised global economy, by harnessing industry knowledge to accelerate emissions reductions across whole supply chains – in sectors where abatement has traditionally faced structural challenges,” ARENA said.
