Giants of Australian industry have joined the call for emissions reductions. 

Companies including BHP, BlueScope, Rio Tinto, and Woodside, have signed a joint statement urging governments, investors, and businesses to take urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the nation's goal of limiting global heating to 1.5℃.

The statement was signed by 17 members of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative, following their support for a February report that found they could reduce their direct emissions by over 90 per cent by 2050, without relying heavily on carbon offsets.

The companies listed several objectives that heavy industry needs to reach net-zero emissions at a pace consistent with limiting heating to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. 

This includes the development of an integrated, net-zero-emissions industrial region and constructing a large-scale, cost-competitive, renewable energy system of the future. 

The companies, also including BP, Westpac, Australian Super, Orica, Wesfarmers, Fortescue Metals, the Australian Industry Group, and the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network, emphasised that achieving these goals would require a significant stretch in ambition.

However, some of the companies' plans appear to be at odds with the goals outlined in the statement. 

For instance, Woodside intends to open multiple large gas and oil fields in Australia and overseas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently reported that existing fossil fuel infrastructure worldwide was sufficient to push the world beyond 1.5℃ heating and towards more dangerous climate change.

Innes Willox, the CEO of the Australian Industry Group, acknowledged that 1.5℃ was an enormous challenge, but he stated that the costs of failure would be very high, and each fraction of a degree mattered. 

Willox noted that emissions caps on business would certainly have to tighten and apply more broadly over time to make net zero happen in industry and energy.

The government recently passed changes to one of its signature climate policies, the safeguard mechanism, with support from the Greens and independents. 

Under the revised safeguard, many of the country's significant industrial sites will be required to reduce emissions intensity by 4.9 per cent per year, either directly or by buying offsets.

This week, several manufacturing companies praised the government's decision to adjust the safeguard in response to their concerns. 

The changes included reducing the rate at which some non-fossil fuel businesses would have to cut emissions intensity to just 1 per cent a year, and increasing public support for manufacturing industries from $600 million to $1 billion. The statements highlight the gap between major industry and the federal Coalition on climate policy.

The federal climate change minister, Chris Bowen, stated that the government's reforms had provided the certainty required to make significant investments in decarbonisation, future-proofing thousands of jobs onshore. 

On the other hand, the Coalition climate change spokesperson, Ted O'Brien, stated that the safeguard mechanism would “decapitate” the economy.