Australia looks to cash in from global climate push

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed commitments by global leaders to deepen climate change action as Australia positions itself as an attractive place for renewable investment if the US scales back green energy incentives. Login or signup to continue reading Australia and other world leaders also called for higher taxes on the ultra rich and a ceasefire in the Middle East as they gathered at a G20 summit in Brazil. With Donald Trump's election as US president threatening a return to tariffs and economic isolationism, Mr Albanese reiterated the importance of free trade to people's livelihoods.

"The outcomes achieved here are all about jobs and economic activity in Australia," he said on Tuesday local time. "We know that one in four of Australian jobs is trade dependent, and that's why Australia's relationships with the world matter. "There's a recognition that free and fair trade is important for industrialised countries .



.. but it also is a global factor in lifting living standards throughout the world.

" Mr Albanese said while Australia would determine its own tax policies, the summit's recommendations were already enshrined in Australia's progressive tax system. Australia and India also promised to increase climate change and defence cooperation as Mr Albanese met with counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit. "Australia and India have a shared ambition to move faster, work together and deploy our complementary capabilities to drive climate action," he said.

The leaders also hailed greater movement of people between the two nations - for work, education and tourism. Mr Albanese also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the meeting, where the pair discussed practical co-operation on renewable energy and climate change. Australia is trying to attract investment in its critical mineral sector, given rich deposits of rare earths are integral to building renewable technology like batteries.

Incoming US President Donald Trump has promised to repeal his predecessor Joe Biden's flagship climate legislation promoting clean energy investment. But the global economic impacts to flow from Mr Trump's move could provide an opportunity for Australia to capitalise on investment in renewables and green hydrogen, Mr Albanese flagged. There were too many moving parts to assess the impact on global conditions under Mr Trump, Industry Minister Ed Husic said, adding changes weren't "the be-all and end-all".

However, Australia remained an attractive place for overseas investment due to the abundance of wind and solar resources. If the US Inflation Reduction Act was repealed by Mr Trump, "there will still be firms that are over there that might move to other locations where the jurisdiction is a lot more open to investment in that space", he said. "We're in the prime position .

.. this is a great opportunity for us.

It's not just solar and wind. I think the developments in hydrogen and battery storage and manufacture here," he told AAP. While global factors did play a part, investors weren't approaching Australia's multibillion-dollar National Reconstruction Fund with a mindset of "we'll only come here if we're certain about what happens in the US", Mr Husic said.

Using batteries as an example, breakthrough technology from Australian minds and universities was being developed to improve battery storage, he said. "I reckon there's a lot that we can we can get stuck into," Mr Husic said. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.

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