Australia is in a unique position to be a supplier of choice for United States and global manufacturers, the Counselor for Economic Affairs at the US Embassy Michael Sullivan says.
Speaking at Paydirt’s Battery Minerals Conference in Perth this morning, Counselor Sullivan discussed the Biden Government’s approach through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other budget programs to support domestic critical minerals supply chains and how Australian companies may indirectly benefit from that.
US Counselor for Economic Affairs Michael Sullivan spoke to Paydirt’s Battery Minerals Conference this morning about the Biden administration’s approach to fighting climate change.
“Most of the known solutions to reduce emissions, decarbonise and tackle the climate change challenge rely on responsibly sourced critical minerals and diverse, secure and resilient supply chains.
“In just the past year-and-a-half the US Congress has passed three of the most significant pieces of legislation in our history of combating climate change.
“Together these three pieces of legislation will total more than 1.5 trillion dollars of investment into research and development, and the adoption of clean energy and clean vehicles – as well as investments into infrastructure and supply chain security over the next decade and beyond.”
The introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act legislation in the US would introduce government policy and tax incentives to help private enterprise flourish and create the solutions demanded by consumers around the world, according to Counselor Sullivan.
For Australia, clean technology like wind turbines, solar panels, energy efficient appliances and electric vehicles rely on nickel, cobalt, lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals found throughout the country.
“Just as important as having the resources is extracting and processing them in a responsible manner. Australia’s commitment to high ESG standards has already attracted interest from American and other global manufacturers.
“As a trusted Free Trade Agreement partner with a robust mining industry, run by a highly skilled workforce supported by the community, Australia is in a unique position to be a supplier of choice for US and global manufacturers.
“These strengths go beyond mineral extraction, and position Australia to move further down the value chain to extract more value domestically by processing the minerals essential to clean tech into the components that are essential building blocks of our clean energy future.
“President Biden has said categorically that the United States welcomes our international partners to join us with their own investments and policies into promoting green technology, and secure and robust supply chains. Climate change has no international borders and neither do the solutions.”
