The Hunter’s aluminium smelting industry is to come under the microscope as part of a Federal Government attempt to cut greenhouse gases.
The Tomago Aluminium Smelter chews up about 11 per cent of the entire output of NSW’s electricity generation and the top-200 in the country cause about 28 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen will today begin talks with all of those industrial polluters in a bid to strengthen a policy known as the “safeguard mechanism” which would see those businesses decarbonise their operations or offset their emissions by purchasing carbon credits.
The Federal Government will be seeking feedback on how the mechanism should be designed using those businesses’ input.
Mining giant BHP said they’ll work with the government through the process – they own one of the biggest mines in the Hunter Valley.
The Albanese government has mandated that Australia reach net zero by 2050 and reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030.