’Ticking time bomb’: Expert’s shock warning on net zero goal

A leading critical minerals expert has revealed the one major hurdle standing in the way of Australia’s net zero by 2050 goal.

New environmental protection laws being proposed by the Albanese government will stall much-needed investment in critical minerals required to reach net zero, experts have warned.

Critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel and more are needed for electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, wind farms and other forms of renewable energy.

But one leading critical minerals expert has warned Australia is on track to miss its net-zero by 2050 target if more isn’t done to support critical mineral mining and manufacturing.

Professor Mohan Yellishetty, co-founder of the Critical Minerals Ccnsortium, said the Albanese government must balance environment interests with the very real risk of delaying net zero if Australia can’t prop up a thriving critical mineral industry.

“With the way we are moving, there is no way that we will be able to meet our commitment by 2050,” he said.

New environmental protection laws being proposed by the Albanese government could stall much-needed investment in critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel needed for electric vehicle batteries and wind farms. Lynas Rare Earths in Western Australia, (pictured left) is the only key supplier of the critical minerals outside China.

We need to remove as many obstacles as possible rather than adding them.”

Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, silicon and others are used to make electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, and demand has doubled over five years.

“We went to a million conferences and symposiums around critical minerals, and two things stood out: the time it takes to stand up a critical minerals project is eight to 10 years and climate change doesn’t know about that, it's a ticking time bomb,” he said.

“And the second thing is the workforce.”

Prof Yellishetty said he would never advocate for “doing a bad job” by not factoring in environmental impacts, but urged the government to create ways to fastback the creation of critical mineral projects.

Critical minerals are crucial for the net zero. Picture: AFP

“We need to have a balancing act … we need to do a good job but at the same time we need to have interventions that would fast track (these projects),” he said.

The concerns come as the CSIRO released a new report highlighting Australia’s potential to become a world leader in critical mineral manufacturing — an industry valued at nearly $500bn.

The nature positive laws will mean businesses have to jump through more hurdles to prop up mines and concerns are rife they could include a controversial climate change trigger.

The Greens have said a trigger — which can be used to block new fossil fuel projects — will be key to their negotiations with the government that is at risk of being in minority if it gets a second term.

Mohan Yellishetty. Picture: supplied.

In their submission to an inquiry assessing the government’s proposed environmental protection laws, the Minerals Council of Australia said the changes create “unnecessary regulatory burden, costs and uncertainty” at a time Australia desperately needs business investment.

“This, in turn, would reduce productivity and further deter investment in an already difficult global market for capital,” the submission said.

“At a time when investment is sorely needed, especially in fields such as energy and critical minerals, investors will be wary of the proposed compliance and enforcement provisions, given the extraordinary increases in penalty provisions proposed.”

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