Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Cement Industry Federation’s (CIF) engagement on climate policy appears to be overall negative. The association appears to be unsupportive of a number of specific Australian climate-related regulations in 2021-23 and adopts a mixed position on the energy transition, supporting the decarbonization of the Australian cement sector, while also advocating a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The CIF displays limited top-line messaging on climate policy. The CIF appeared to support the Australian cement industry's 2050 net-zero strategy in a September 2022 consultation submission. The CIF do not appear to have communicated support for the goals of the Paris Agreement since a July 2018 joint statement. Additionally, although the association stated support for a “nationally agreed” approach to climate policy in a November 2022 consultation submission, it appeared to qualify this support by emphasizing the need for State-based regulations to avoid increasing “regulatory and resource burden”.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: The CIF appears to oppose a number of specific climate-related regulations in Australia. The CIF appeared to oppose key elements of Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism Reforms in its September 2022 consultation submission, suggesting that the proposed time-frame for reforms is too short and that emissions baselines should reflect “technical possibilities”. The association likewise opposed the introduction of a mandatory energy efficiency target in its February 2023 submission to the National Energy Performance Strategy, emphasizing issues of international competitiveness and regulatory burden.
The CIF also appeared to oppose the implementation of greenhouse gas emissions targets under the NSW Government’s Climate Change Policy Action Plan in November 2022, suggesting that industries that are subject to existing Federal emissions reduction legislation should not be required to have separate targets at the State level. The association likewise appeared unsupportive of state-based greenhouse gas targets in an April 2021 consultation submission, stating that “setting overly ambitious targets without a clear pathway to reaching those goals has the potential to lead to policies and measures that could distort markets and negatively impact on the competitiveness of industry and the economy”.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The CIF adopts a mixed position on the energy transition, supporting the decarbonization of the Australian cement sector, yet also advocating a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix. The CIF communicated broad support for the decarbonization of the Australian cement industry in its January 2022 Pre-Budget submission, calling for government incentives, regulatory standards and procurement policies to support the sector's net-zero strategy. The association likewise advocated for government funding to increase development of green hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage to aid the decarbonization of Australia’s cement industry in a September 2022 consultation response. Notably, however, in a July 2022 consultation submission, the CIF advocated for policy measures to increase domestic gas field development in Australia. The CIF reiterated this support for fossil gas in an August 2022 submission, stating that “all Australian jurisdictions should take steps to incentivize exploration and the safe development of natural gas resources”.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the industry association's scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q1 2024.