National Reconstruction Fund to deliver newly-named $5 billion Net Zero Fund

The federal government has announced a $5 billion Net Zero Fund aimed at supporting the decarbonisation of heavy industry, to be delivered by the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) with capital drawn from the existing $15 billion program.

The announcement on Thursday coincided with the government’s release of its 2035 climate target – a 62-70 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions versus 2005 levels – as well as its Net Zero Plan, explaining what it hopes to do to achieve this.

According to a statement from Tim Ayres on Wednesday, the The Net Zero Fund will “support large industrial facilities to make major investments in new equipment, technologies and processes to decarbonise” as well as “help ensure facilities are fit for future production while preserving good jobs in regional and outer-suburban Australia.”

Consultation on the design of the fund and policy settings will begin “in a matter of days”, and will inform ways to “leverage the complementary investment objectives” of the NRF and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Citing the Future Made in Australia plan, Ayres said the $5 billion fund will be “a vital component” of the government’s industrial strategy, “which already represents the biggest pro-manufacturing investment in Australian history.

“The Fund will deliver targeted investments that bolster the transition to less carbon-intensive manufacturing and production processes, including at some of Australia’s most economically and strategically important industrial facilities.  

Picture: Broken Hill Solar Plant (credit Jeremy Buckingham, CC BY 2.0)