Letter to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's Electricity and Energy Sector Plan Discussion Paper

26 April 2024

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Department's Electricity and Energy Sector Plan Discussion Paper in the context of the Australian Government's Net Zero 2050 Plan and Australia's 2035 emissions reduction target.

The scale, breadth and complexity of the transition to net zero has been described as the next industrial revolution by some commentators and equated with world war mobilisation efforts by others. The Net Zero Australia study estimates a cumulative capital investment of $7 to 9 trillion is required to transition our economy to net zero.

As elaborated upon in the BCA's Seize the moment report, a critical enabling step to decarbonising our domestic and export sectors is transitioning to a modern energy system - one that is reliable, affordable and clean. This is also central to the economic interests of all Australians, including:

  • workers in the energy sector and energy intensive parts of the economy;
  • smaller local businesses that need to keep their energy costs down to survive;
  • larger externally focussed businesses that need to keep their energy costs down to be internationally competitive; and
  • vulnerable households that need to heat and cool their homes while managing tight budgets and cost-of-living pressures.

The BCA is currently engaging with its membership to determine an appropriate national 2035 emissions reduction target with a line of sight to achieving net zero by 2050. This work is based on a granular 'ground up' analysis of emissions abatement opportunities and challenges across each of the 6 sectors defined in the Australian Government's Net Zero 2050 Plan.

The work is focussed on each of the 6 sectors in their own right and takes an integrated view of emissions abatement opportunities and challenges across the economy. The work also recognises that decarbonising the energy sector in an orderly, efficient and just way is at the heart of enabling decarbonisation of the transport, industry, resources, agriculture, and built environment sectors.

Read the full letter here.

Share

Latest news


Submissions

Submissions

Submissions