Australia Begs for Foreign Investment to Fund Aussie Net Zero

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Everyone who slammed Australia in the lead up to COP26, for failing to realise our renewable energy “superpower” potential, are now being asked to put up some of their own money.

Australia calls for foreign investment to fund its clean energy target

By Eryk Bagshaw
November 15, 2021 — 5.00am

Singapore: Finance Minister Simon Birmingham will plead for foreign investors to return to Australia as Chinese investment evaporates and the Morrison government relies on the private sector to fund its net zero plan.

The pitch to foreign investors at a major Asian investment conference in Singapore on Monday will aim to recast Australia from climate laggard to climate leader.

The government’s technology investment road map is expected to result in up to $20 billion being invested over the next 10 years, but the government is targeting $60 billion in investment from the private sector – much of it from overseas.

“Inbound investment into Australia is so crucial if we are to realise the potential business growth in these sectors,” Birmingham will tell the Milken Institute on Monday.

Australia is the world’s 13th largest economy but is ranked 53rd by population size, leaving it reliant on foreign capital to pump up its economy and investments in expensive clean energy technology such as hydrogen. The Milken Institute Asia Summit also features former US treasury secretaries Steven Mnuchin and Lawrence Summers, along with representatives from two of the world’s largest investment fund managers, BlackRock and Blackstone.

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Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/australia-calls-for-foreign-investment-to-fund-its-clean-energy-target-20211114-p598sv.html

The sad part is Australian politicians mostly actually believe in the hydrogen economy hype, and Australia’s imaginary renewable energy potential.

I would have loved to present this story as a political joke, a successful geopolitical point scoring move against the climate hypocrite leaders of Europe.

But the real joke is on Australia, and Australia’s politicians, who mostly appear to genuinely believe that if they put up $20 billion of Aussie taxpayer’s money, private capital shall rush in and help Australia to create a lucrative new green hydrogen export industry.