Miners wary of more green tape in decarbonisation mission

WA miners have backed in warnings that “slow and complicated” approvals processes are delaying decarbonisation, a finding in a report that’s also recommended beefing up equally controversial safeguard mechanism rules.

The Climate Change Authority’s Sector Pathways Review published on Thursday concluded Australia can reach net zero by 2050, but it will take more workers, policy intervention and faster approvals for renewables projects.

In the report CCA specifically called out slow approvals — a perennial gripe of the resources industry — and said net zero transition projects should be prioritised.

Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson backed in the finding, and said the WA resources sector can only electrify if it has access to reliable and affordable sources of low emission energy.

“It’s therefore vital that governments do everything in their power to accelerate the rollout of low emissions generation capacity, as well as the transmission lines needed to move those electrons,” she said.

“That must include reducing delays to environmental assessments at both the state and federal level.”

CME members “continue to advise” that lengthy approvals at state and federal levels were “delaying decarbonisation projects and scaring off international investment”, she said.

To stay on track the CCA has also recommended expanding the scope of the Federal Government’s Safeguard Mechanism, a national policy that sets legislated limits on the “baseline” emissions an industrial operation can produce.

Energy intensive mining and oil and gas projects are among specific targets of the legislation.

But industry is concerned that any changes they make to replace fossil fuel-generated electricity with renewable-generated — the easiest way for miners to decarbonise — would not be counted as an emissions reduction under the mechanism.

“A simple change would see the Safeguard Mechanism incentivise the replacement of carbon-intensive electricity generation with imported low emission electricity, which is currently out of scope,” Ms Tomkinson said.

“Electricity is a major source of industrial emissions. Any reduction in net emissions should be recognised by the Safeguard Mechanism, regardless of where the power is generated.”