Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative media release
21 February 2022
Westpac and the CEFC join major industry initiative to explore net zero emissions in supply chains, underscoring the key role of finance in the transition
Australia's first bank and oldest company, Westpac, and Australia's 'green bank' - the government-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) - are the latest to sign on as partners to the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (Australian Industry ETI).
The Australian Industry ETI brings together key industry and finance organisations to accelerate action towards achieving net zero emissions in industrial supply chains by 2050. The initiative's focus is on critical sectors known as 'hard-to-abate', given their high emissions and relatively higher abatement costs.
As the world shifts to an ambition to limit warming to 1.5 degrees below pre-industrial levels, Australian Industry ETI partners are asking what that could look like for major industrial supply chains.
Investment is a key enabler for decarbonisation, and diverse participation is a fundamental strength of the initiative. Westpac and the CEFC add further value to an already significant line up - partner organisations now represent 21 per cent of Australia's industrial emissions and approximately 27 per cent of ASX100 market value. Critically, both new partners bring their own unique experience in financing projects at the scale required to ensure Australian industry maximises all opportunities within a decarbonised future.
Westpac and the CEFC join financial heavyweights including Australia's largest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper; the largest super fund for the building, construction and allied industries, Cbus; HSBC Australia and National Australia Bank.
Partners from industry include Australia Gas Infrastructure Group, APA Group, BHP, BlueScope Steel, BP Australia, Fortescue Metals Group, Orica, Rio Tinto, Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers and Woodside; with Aurecon and Schneider Electric representing a broad system of services, products and knowledge.
Getting to net zero within these hard-to-abate sectors and across complex supply chains calls for a multi-faceted approach by multiple players, covering finance, investment and service providers. The depth and breadth of Australia Industry ETI partner group involvement in industry supply chains will be essential for transformation at scale.
Last year, the Australian Industry ETI found that existing and emerging technology solutions can address almost all emissions in five industry supply chains, and that the transition will require significant investment, coordination and leadership.
The Australian Industry ETI will soon release its work uncovering decarbonisation opportunities in important industrial regions through case studies looking at actions to achieve the scale of transformation required.
Later in 2022, the Australian Industry ETI will make available a full suite of industry decarbonisation pathways for five supply chains, including iron and steel; aluminium; LNG; other metals (copper, nickel, lithium); and chemicals, such as fertilisers and explosives.
Convened by ClimateWorks Australia and Climate-KIC Australia with support from the Energy Transitions Commission, the Australian Industry ETI's knowledge partners include Bloomberg NEF, Rocky Mountain Institute and CSIRO. The initiative is funded by philanthropy, company contributions and the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's (ARENA) Advancing Renewables Program.
