The Australian government unveiled a budget on Tuesday aimed at developing renewable energies for the country’s next fiscal year 2024/2025, previously heavily reliant on its mining industry.
“This budget invests in our ambitions to be a renewable energy superpower,” said Finance Minister (Labor) Jim Chalmers, announcing a series of investments in solar panels, essential minerals, and emission reduction technologies.
Chalmers stated that the country is on track to achieve a budget surplus of 9 billion Australian dollars (5.5 billion euros) for the fiscal year ending in June 2024 – after posting a surplus the previous year – partly boosted by soaring prices of iron ore and coal.
While heavily polluting commodities are expected to continue fueling the Australian economy for years to come, Chalmers said Australia could no longer ignore global demand for cleaner energy.
“We know that the global energy transformation presents a golden opportunity for Australia,” said Chalmers in his budget speech in Parliament. “If we sit on the sidelines, the opportunities for a new generation of jobs and prosperity will slip away from us. This budget invests in our ambitions to be a renewable energy superpower.”
The new “Made in Australia” program aims to capitalize on opportunities in renewable energies and local advanced industries.
Inspired by the US inflation reduction law, this program will allocate the equivalent of 13.9 billion euros to the solar panel sectors, low-carbon fuels, tax breaks for essential minerals, and other priority areas.
However, analysts expect that the Australian budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 – from July 2024 to June 2025 – will show a deficit of 28.3 billion Australian dollars (17.3 billion euros), partly attributed to a significant investment effort in the country’s defense.