An Australian industry employer group is calling for bipartisan support for the draft safeguard mechanism reforms to provide the necessary policy framework for big emitters to invest in reaching net zero.
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Australian Industry Group climate change and energy director Tennant Reed said private investment was making up the "vast bulk" of Australia's commitments towards reaching net zero.
But he warned this would require the right policy drivers to kick it along.
Mr Reed was speaking at a Senate hearing into the Safeguard Mechanism Amendment Bill in Canberra on Monday.
He said the AiGroup represented "several 1000 businesses" but most of its high emissions members had set their own targets.
"I do not think you will find a business with currently high emissions intensity production and large overall emissions, who believes that they can get to net zero or below without supportive public policy," Mr Reed said.
The draft safeguard amendments would mean that industries would have to reduce their emissions by 4.9 per cent each year by 2030, with the help of carbon credits and new technology.
The Coalition is not supporting the Bill and Greens will only back the draft if it includes putting the clamps on any new new coal or gas projects.
The AiGroup had previously warned that if the Coalition and Greens scuttled these amendments, it would mean "more climate wars and less climate action".
Mr Reed pointed to the premium prices on green manufactured products such as steel, but the absence of public policy meant that making steel with coking coal was still cheaper than making it from [green] hydrogen.
"But the strongest guarantee of all of durability is broad political support for an overall policy direction, that's a very valuable commodity and is often a hard-won commodity," Mr Reed said.
"There's certain to be risks of getting investments wrong. But the less that we have to worry about political risk, the better."
Mr Reed was responding to New South Wales Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes, who was highlighting worries that these new policies could send steel and cement manufacturing offshore.
Senator Hughes said also labelled the safeguard Bill another form of red tape, and asked what was the need for any amendments if large industry groups were already setting their own targets.
"Because there are very few businesses that think they can achieve those commitments in the absence of supportive public policy," Mr Reed said.
Mr Reed said options such as introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - or a tariff on carbon intensive products such as cement - could help keep businesses in Australia.
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"We don't want to see an outcome where they are forced to pursue that future outside Australia," he said.
"We think that is entirely avoidable, but further work will be needed to ensure that in the long term it is avoided."
It comes as a new Climate Analytics report found that Australia's existing and committed coal and gas production would exceed the total emission limits of the government's proposed Safeguard Mechanism.
The report found that the government had underestimated projected emissions, and gas emissions could increase by 36 per cent, and emissions from coal could rise by up to 116 per cent by 2030.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt said new coal and gas would "break" the Safeguard Mechanism.
"The numbers are here in black and white. Labor needs to get real. You can't tackle the climate crisis while opening up new coal and gas mines," Mr Bandt said.