Earlier this month, Indo-Pacific ministers and business leaders gathered in Sydney for a two-day forum to help secure clean energy supply chains in the region and support the global energy transformation.
The Australian government co-hosted the Sydney Energy Forum with the International Energy Agency to bring together governments and the private sector and identify practical opportunities to transition to clean energy.
Ministers from the US, Japan, India, Indonesia, and the Pacific Island nation of Samoa attended the forum along with leaders of major companies that are committed to low emissions technologies.
The forum aimed to foster connections between investors, business and government with a focus on innovations in key clean energy technologies such as solar, hydrogen, critical minerals and batteries.
“Australia has an opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower by tapping into our solar, wind and skilled energy workforces to drive clean manufacturing and energy exports in the region,” Climate Change and Energy minister Chris Bowen said.
“The Sydney Energy Forum will bring together government ministers, business leaders and investors to point the way forward on the transition to prosperous net zero economies.”
The Albanese government was encouraged by the warm reception from Australia’s allies and trading partners on the updated national pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
“The outstanding list of international attendees for the Sydney Energy Forum is a global vote of confidence in Australia and our commitment to a clean energy future,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“I am proud to be leading a government that is co-hosting the Sydney Energy Forum which will showcase Australia as a world leader in low emissions technology. This forum is an example of Australia leading the way in the Indo-Pacific and the world on an achievable path to emissions reduction targets.”
This certainty provides the solid ground for shared economic collaboration, which the government embarked on during the Sydney Energy Forum.
Australia is demonstrating that we can transition to a net zero economy while simultaneously providing clean, affordable and secure energy to countries in our region for their own transitions.
Reducing emissions while growing economies and adding jobs is a challenge that requires regional and global cooperation. The current global energy crisis has further emphasised the need for collaboration and to position energy security at the centre of the renewable energy transformation.
The Indo-Pacific region accounts for about half of the world’s energy consumption and emissions, but is also a key source of the raw materials, products and technologies vital to reducing emissions.