PM’s renewable energy ‘superpower’ call
Anthony Albanese will declare Australia is “eager and ready to do our part” to achieve a net zero world and could become a renewable energy superpower with its resources and research capacity.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: AAP/Lukas Coch
In a key speech on climate change today, the prime minister will tell the Sydney Energy Forum that Australia is ready to “once again be a trusted global partner on climate action”.
The forum on Tuesday is co-hosted by the Australian government and the International Energy Agency to advance the development of clean energy in the Indo-Pacific region.
In a draft of the speech circulated to media, Albanese will urge greater investment in renewable energy throughout the Indo-Pacific.
He will call for more people in the energy sector to work together on clean energy and will highlight the need to “triple” our investment.
The Indo-Pacific region currently accounts for 80 per cent of private investment globally in clean energy in 2021.
“This will only increase because if the world is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, our investment in clean energy must more than triple,” Albanese will say.
“It is essential that the unprecedented levels of investment in clean energy technologies required over the coming decades unlocks more diverse and secure supply chains than we have today.
“Together, we can ensure better access to affordable, reliable and secure clean energy right across the Indo-Pacific as we move to a net-zero world.”
The focus on the Indo-Pacific in the address comes as the prime minister prepares to fly to Fiji on Wednesday for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva.
The forum will have climate change high on the agenda.
“As Prime Minister, I am committed to renewing Australia’s standing in our region,” he is expected to tell the forum.
“We need to act and we will act … This is a matter of urgency, but also optimism.”
Albanese will also spruik the opportunity Australia now has to use its natural resources and research and engineering talent to grow new clean industries and ensure energy security.
“Australia has the workers, the resources and the capacity to become a renewable energy superpower,” he will say.
He will highlight Australia’s natural resources that are critical in clean technology such as solar panels and batteries.
“We have an abundance of the rare earths and critical minerals that will underpin new energy economies — such as aluminium, lithium, copper, cobalt and nickel.”
“Australia is eager and ready to do our part.”
– with AAP, New Daily
