Australia may become exposed to environmental, economic and energy security risks if local and state governments fail to foster a domestic renewable fuels sector, according to a new Bioenergy Australia report.
The report, titled Transitioning Australia’s Liquid Fuel Sector: The Role of Renewable Fuels, addresses issues related to decarbonising the economy, including how to reduce emissions in the liquid fuel space and where electrification is impractical.
The report stated that the task of decarbonising Australia’s economy will become more difficult without the urgent development and deployment of the liquid renewable fuels that the nation’s transport, mining, agriculture and construction sectors needed to lower emissions.
The report also warns of a missed economic opportunity that is well and truly being grasped by other nations, with Australia’s bioenergy roadmap claiming that $10 billion in gross domestic product per annum could be added over the next decade with the development of a mature bioenergy sector, along with 26,200 new jobs.
It noted that some opportunities that can support the push to renewable energy include replacing 6% of petrol with bioethanol, which would be the equivalent of taking 730,000 vehicles off the road and replacing 2% of diesel with biodiesel or renewable diesel, which would be the equivalent of taking 29,000 rigid trucks off the road.
According to Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie, the pursuit of electrification will slow down Australia’s pursuit of its emissions reduction targets, leaving significant sectors unable to decarbonise in an affordable and reliable way.
“While electrification is essential for significant pillars of the energy system it is only part of the answer to reducing emissions. Australia’s economy is reliant on liquid fuels, our heavy industries, aviation, marine, agriculture, and mining need affordable and immediate decarbonisation options,” McKenzie noted.
She added that businesses across critical sectors must be given the ability to reduce their emissions and not simply leave them to their own devices, or their own demise.
