Exporting our clean energy the way to go

AUSTRALIA could create almost 400,000 jobs in clean energy exports in just two decades, an unlikely coalition of business, unions and conservation groups has found.

Research released by the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF) Australia and the Australian Conservation Foundation has found there is potential for 395,000 clean export jobs and $89 billion in new trade by 2040.

The analysis from Accenture finds that Australia’s largest clean export opportunities are in renewable hydrogen and ammonia, green metals, critical minerals, battery manufacturing, education and engineering.

The group has called on the government to implement a five key steps to make this happen:

* Co-ordinated investment in seven clean export precincts;

* A $10 billion co-investment in new industries – to support flagship projects and accelerate the scale-up of existing industries;

* A $5 billion fund for workers and regions to manage the disruption to regional economies and workers dependent on carbon-intensive industries;

* Support for low-carbon materials in major infrastructure projects – to boost domestic demand, support new manufacturing capacity and lay foundations for exports; and

* An interim target of six gigawatts of hydrogen and three green metal plants by 2027.

Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O’shanassy (above) said there needed to be a rapid shift away from fossil fuel exports but this need not hurt the economy.

“The good news is Australia can replace and grow the revenue and jobs from coal and gas exports with clean exports,” Ms O’shanassy said.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said Australia’s biggest trading partners were moving to clean exports and Australia needed to respond.

“Acting now puts us in the box seat to take advantage of our world-class skills, abundant resources,” Ms Westacott said.