Infrastructure Sector Unites to Define Net Zero

Australia’s infrastructure sector is uniting the accelerate its journey to net zero, tacking the challenge of decarbonising the multibillion-dollar industry.

The newly formed Infrastructure Net Zero taskforce – a collaboration of government and industry bodies – has launched a consultation to define what net zero means for interconnected infrastructure sector through a paper authored by Mott Macdonald.

Nicole Lockwood, Chair of Infrastructure Net Zero, which is hosted by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, says there needs to be a clear focus on the big task at hand.

“When we created Infrastructure Net Zero last year, our vision was to enable an effective, efficient, and collaborative transition to net zero for infrastructure,” Ms Lockwood said.

“Today, we are excited to take the first step on this journey with the launch of a consultation process to establish clear, industry-wide definitions for net zero infrastructure.”

The consultation invites stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed definitions to guide wide-scale adoption and action across the sector.

Toby Kent, CEO of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council, stressed the need for a unified approach.

“Decarbonising infrastructure is complex, and a consistent framework for measurement and reporting is essential for accelerated and improved progress.

“Whilst progress has been made in pockets of the sector, the criticality but also the complexity of decarbonising infrastructure cannot be understated,” Mr Kent said.

Infrastructure Net Zero acknowledges that 70 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are directly attributable to, or influenced by, the infrastructure sector.

Achieving net zero will require reducing these emissions at their source, with any remaining emissions offset by 2050, for Australia to meet its national and state climate commitments.

Infrastructure must also adapt to climate change, with 88 per cent of global adaptation costs expected to fall on this sector – highlighting the need for both mitigation and resilience efforts.

Davina Rooney, CEO of Green Building Council of Australia, said she is confident the collaborative efforts will enable a collective path forward.

“It has been a pleasure to collaborate with the Infrastructure Net Zero coalition within ASBEC, along with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council, on this critical milestone in the net zero journey,” Ms Rooney said.

“We’re excited to continue working together to finalise these definitions and launch them in 2025.”

The consultation paper can be accessed here, and the feedback form can be accessed here until 30 November 2024.