Australians want industry, and they’d like it green. Steel is the place to start

Tony Wood and colleagues write in The Conversation (11.5.20) that Australia could secure a huge portion of the world’s steel industry, and establish processing and manufacturing centres on the east coast, if it gets the technologies right.

‘Australia has an historic opportunity to build a new, export-focused manufacturing sector based on renewable energy.

‘As a bonus, it could enable a less politically fraught conversation about climate change. Global action on climate change is in Australia’s national interest.

‘The changing climate is already reducing profits for Australian farmers. Tens of thousands of jobs depend on the again-bleached Great Barrier Reef.

‘But for too long, political leaders have struggled to balance the national interest with the legitimate concerns of Australians who live and work in regions that host coal mining and other carbon-intensive industries – most notably central Queensland and the Hunter Valley in NSW.

‘… Green steel offers Australia a reset button: a chance to get bipartisan cooperation to tackle a wicked problem that threatens our national interest. We’ve heard plenty about the climate crisis. It’s time to talk about the opportunities.’

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