TY - JOUR
T1 - Contributing to regional decarbonization: Australia's potential to supply zero-carbon commodities to the Asia-Pacific
AU - Burke, Paul
AU - Beck, Fiona
AU - Aisbett, Emma
AU - Baldwin, Kenneth
AU - Stocks, Matt
AU - Pye, John
AU - Brahmadesham Venkataraman, Mahesh
AU - Hunt, Janet
AU - Bai, Xuemei
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The Asia-Pacific has experienced prodigious growth in energy use and is by far the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitting region. Australia has played a leading role in meeting the region's energy and resource needs, becoming the world's largest exporter of coal, liquefied natural gas, iron ore, and
alumina. Our analysis shows that these exports are tied to sizeable consequential emissions at the point
of use or processing, accounting for about 8.6% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the Asia-Pacific.
The paper investigates three pathways by which Australia could instead export zero-carbon energy and
products: direct exports of renewable electricity via sub-sea cables, exports of zero-carbon fuels such as
green hydrogen, and the export of “green†metals processed from Australian ores using renewable energy.
Carrying out robust, high-level calculations we find that Australia has the land and renewable energy resources to become a key exporter of these commodities. Realization of this potential relies on ongoing cost reductions, growing demand-side interest linked to meeting ambitious emission reduction targets in the region, and the development of cross-border frameworks for clean energy trade. If it were
to achieve this goal, Australia could make a sizeable contribution to regional decarbonization via renewable-energy based exports.
AB - The Asia-Pacific has experienced prodigious growth in energy use and is by far the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitting region. Australia has played a leading role in meeting the region's energy and resource needs, becoming the world's largest exporter of coal, liquefied natural gas, iron ore, and
alumina. Our analysis shows that these exports are tied to sizeable consequential emissions at the point
of use or processing, accounting for about 8.6% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the Asia-Pacific.
The paper investigates three pathways by which Australia could instead export zero-carbon energy and
products: direct exports of renewable electricity via sub-sea cables, exports of zero-carbon fuels such as
green hydrogen, and the export of “green†metals processed from Australian ores using renewable energy.
Carrying out robust, high-level calculations we find that Australia has the land and renewable energy resources to become a key exporter of these commodities. Realization of this potential relies on ongoing cost reductions, growing demand-side interest linked to meeting ambitious emission reduction targets in the region, and the development of cross-border frameworks for clean energy trade. If it were
to achieve this goal, Australia could make a sizeable contribution to regional decarbonization via renewable-energy based exports.
U2 - 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123563
DO - 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123563
M3 - Article
SN - 0360-5442
VL - 248
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Energy
JF - Energy
ER -