CSIRO launch $90 million research project to transition hard-to-abate industries to low-emission economy

An initial $90 million will be invested in the national science agency's large-scale project, designed to help major emitting sectors, including steel and agriculture, halve emissions by 2035.

In collaboration with thinktank the Regional Australia Institute, the CSIRO will develop road maps for regions reliant on hard-to-abate industries, in an effort to prevent workers and communities being left behind.

Michael Battaglia, CSIRO project leader, said this was about avoiding mistakes of the past, to maximise benefits and avoid potential transition pitfalls.

The CSIRO has identified developing new processes for low-emissions steel and understanding the requirements for developing sustainable aviation fuel as two of its project goals.

Researchers will examine how scaling up feedstocks to provide input for sustainable fuel can be done, without hollowing out communities in the process.

Dr Battaglia said brokering conversations for regional people, to better understand future vulnerabilities and what support could be required, was an important aspect of their work.

"Change is always unsettling. But the worst thing we could do is walk blindly towards the future," Dr Battaglia said.

"The global net-zero transition is happening and irrespective of our domestic policy, Australia will experience it through markets and international tariffs."

The CSIRO will look at ways to expand Australia's carbon offset capacity by using and scaling negative emission technologies, such as carbon sequestration.

Dr Battaglia said, to keep the world below 1.5 degrees of warming, close to nine gigatons per year of carbon capture were required.

"We have to reduce emissions, that's a no brainer, but we also have to actively withdraw CO2 out of the atmosphere, given the industry emission reduction rates we're seeing," he said.

"The challenge for us is to ensure we're doing it in a way that contributes to prosperity and has the most desirable outcomes."

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Dr Battaglia said Australia had significant potential for mineral carbonation, using mined rock to capture CO2 and blue carbon opportunities within the large marine estate.

"There's a range of opportunities we can start to realise that, in addition to offsetting some of the emissions from our hard-to-abate sectors, allow us to draw down atmospheric CO2 to try to limit global warming," he said.

Meat and Livestock Australia and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries are among stakeholders collaborating on the project.

The CSIRO provided independent analysis to guide Queensland's agriculture sector to a low emissions' future, as part of a roadmap it released for public consultation earlier this year.

Mr Salvo Vitelli, Queensland agricultural department general manager, said the sector would continue to work with CSIRO to ensure agribusiness capitalised on low emissions economic opportunities.