How Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap Will Impact the Global Goals
Yesterday, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor addressed the National Press Club in delivering the first Low Emissions Technology Statement as part of the government's Technology Investment Roadmap.
The statement outlines which technologies will be prioritised and the associated challenges with such technologies. The statement also includes the Technology Investment Framework. It marks the first major milestone in the roadmap.
The priority areas for low emissions technologies include clean hydrogen, energy storage, low carbon materials (steel and aluminium), carbon capture and storage (CCS) and soil carbon. Each of these priority areas includes a target for how much these should cost consumers in order to ensure the affordability of these technologies.
The first statement will make a significant impact on Goal 7 and Goal 13.
Goal 7 looks at Affordable and Clean Energy, and Goal 13 aims to achieve Climate Action.
One of the key components of Goal 13 is the achievement of the Paris Agreement targets, which this first Low Emissions Technology Statement sets out to "overachieve" on. The government has committed to avoiding 250 million tonnes of emissions per year by 2040. Australia's current emissions are at approximately 530 million tonnes per year, which would mean that we are looking at almost halving our emissions over the next 20 years. This will put us in a solid position to ensure net-zero emissions by 2050; although, the Coalition is yet to make that commitment.
There is also an important focus on Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth as the government looks towards creating new jobs in the sector - approximately 130,000 by 2030 with over half of these expected to be in regional communities. The government's aim is to do this while preserving and expanding employment in current energy-intensive industries.
There are a number of plans and targets regarding public-private partnership including working with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and establishing Australia's first regional hydrogen hub.
There are a number of plans and targets regarding public-private partnerships including working with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and establishing Australia's first regional hydrogen hub.
The first Low Emissions Technology Statement also lists a number of emerging technologies. These include electric vehicles, hybrid systems for off-grid and fringe-of-grid uses, waste to energy and recycling, livestock feed technologies and hydrogen-enabled appliances to name a few. A list of early-stage technologies have also been identified.
It is obvious that the government is also focusing on Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, with a focus on innovation. This roadmap prioritises innovation as a way to tackle environmental challenges, namely emissions contributing to climate change.
The government is putting a specific emphasis on ensuring energy remains affordable for Australians over the coming years while also cleaning up Australia's energy landscape. We are excited to see further innovation coming out of this Technology Investment Roadmap in order to achieve the Global Goals!
You can view the first Low Emissions Technology Statement here.