The infrastructure of net zero: a unique challenge for Australia

Abstract

In August 2021, Worley and Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment published a report titled ‘From ambition to reality: Weaving the threads of net-zero delivery’ which examined the challenge of building the assets of net zero. It used as a basis Princeton’s Net-Zero America study which detailed a number of pathways to achieve net-zero, finding for all an enormous infrastructure challenge – like nothing the world has ever seen. This joint publication considered the complex execution challenge of delivering this infrastructure. Extrapolating these results to the world economy, it was obvious that if infrastructure was delivered using historical, linear development and deployment paths then it would not be possible to reach net zero by 2050 regardless of which technology pathway was used. The joint publication developed five key shifts in practice that could bridge the gap between net zero ambition and reality. In this paper we explore the implications of this for the Australian energy markets, focusing on energy exports and the decarbonisation technologies most relevant to the oil and gas sector assuming a net zero ambition. In particular, we consider the shifts that will be needed to deliver these technologies, focusing on key deployment levers that may prove pivotal to meeting this ambition.