In a significant move, the federal government is today announcing that it will introduce a Future Made in Australia Act – with a focus on manufacturing of clean renewables and decarbonisation of the economy.
Influenced by the US Inflation Reduction Act, and designed to underwrite new investment in clean energy and build a new sovereign industrial base, Friends of the Earth Australia welcomes this announcement.
With debate around national energy policy currently stuck in a Culture War deadlock, will the Liberal and National parties support a common sense approach to managing the economic and energy transition that is already underway?
After decades of neoliberal ideology dominating politics leading to denial and delay, the covid crisis underscored the need for governments to be able to strongly intervene and support the economy and community in times of crisis and change.
The energy transition is now underway but can’t be left to the market alone –there is a clear need for a bigger role for government in the economic transition to make sure fairness and justice are hardwired in.
As the country grapples with the reality of a combined industrial and information revolution, it is essential that Australia prepare for the reality of a changing global economic order, and the impacts of climate change, which will continue to escalate in coming years.
It is understood that the federal government will outline today a reform agenda involving new financing facilities, investor incentives to drive new economic growth, greater sovereignty over resources and critical minerals, competition reform and community incentives for renewable energy projects.
The US Inflation Reduction Act
In August 2022, the U.S. Congress approved the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, combining the objectives of reducing domestic inflation - notably brought by the global energy crisis - while tackling climate change. A key stated goal of the act is to reduce carbon emissions by around 40 percent by 2030.
‘The IRA is creating opportunities to build projects, hire workers, and manufacture equipment needed to strengthen domestic supply chains, lower household energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and pay good wages for those efforts’.
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/inflation-reduction-act
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Cam Walker 0419 338 047