Decarbonising Infrastructure
This report sets out a high-level assessment of the policy action required to decarbonise Australia’s infrastructure sector, across its asset classes. It covers energy, transport, and asset management during construction, operation and waste.

1 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2022, Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: September 2021.
2 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2021, Australia’s whole-of-economy Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan.
3 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2021, Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: June 2021.
4 Ipsos, 2021, Environmental impact is seen as critical to infrastructure planning – Ipsos Study.
5 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2021, Australian Energy Update 2021.
6 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2021, National Inventory Report 2019 Volume 1.
7 IEA, 2022, Electric cars fend off supply challenges to more than double global sales.
8 Property Council of Australia, 2021, Why embodied carbon is the next frontier.
9 Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment; Blue Environment, 2020,National Waste Report 2020.
10 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2020, Waste Account, Australia, Experimental Estimates 2018-19 financial year.
11 Yu et al., 2017, The Carbon Footprint of Australia’s Construction Sector.
12 Stocks et al., 2019, The Conversation, Australia is the runaway global leader in building new renewable energy.
13 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Australia New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline.
14 AEMO, 2022, Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q4 2021.
15 AEMO, 2022, Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q4 2021.
16 Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2021, Australia’s emissions projections 2021.
17 UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2022, Policy paper: Contracts for Difference
18 Global Infrastructure Hub, 2021, Contracts for Difference (CfD) to accelerate electricity market reform and launch auctions for renewable energy
19 Low Carbon Contracts Company, Reconciliation of Q4 2021 payments sees CfD portfolio paying back to electricity suppliers.
20 Energy Networks Australia, 2021, Energy Insider 2021: The price is definitely not right.
21 Evoenergy, 2021, ACT electricity network pricing proposal 2021-22.
22 Finkel, 2021, Getting to Zero: Australia’s Energy Transition (Quarterly Essay Issue 81).
23 The energy efficiency rate for round-trip for batteries is 85-95 per cent. Finkel, 2021, Getting to Zero: Australia’s Energy Transition (Quarterly Essay Issue 81).
24 Townson, 2021, Energy Networks Australia, Batteries buzz – how many hours do we need?
25 Finkel, 2021, Getting to Zero: Australia’s Energy Transition (Quarterly Essay Issue 81).
26 Blakers et al., 2017, Australian National University, An atlas of pumped hydro energy storage.
27 CSIRO, 2020, Ammonia to Hydrogen Metal Membrane Separation Technology.
28 Australian Energy Regulator, 2021, State of the energy market 2021.
29 OpenNEM, 2022, Energy NEM.
30 Australian Energy Market Operator, 2021, West Murray.
31 Skinner & Kitchen, 2020, Australian Energy Council, REZs: Can they overcome the prisoner’s dilemma?
32 Australian Energy Market Operator, 2020, 2020 Integrated System Plan Appendix 5. Renewable Energy Zones.
33 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2022, Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: September 2021.
34 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2022, Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: September 2021.
35 Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2022, Transport.
36 IEA, 2022, Electric cars fend off supply challenges to more than double global sales.
37 IEA, 2021, Global EV Outlook.
38 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021, Motor Vehicle Census, Australia.
39 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021, Motor Vehicle Census, Australia.
40 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, 2019, Road User Charging for Electric Vehicles.
41 Assumes 200 Wh/km vehicle efficiency and 11,100 km travelled per year.
42 Assumes one EV charged entirely at home from grid-sourced power and 15 kW/day average household consumption.
43 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018, Census of Population and Housing: Commuting to Work – More Stories from the Census, 2016.
44 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021, Electric passenger vehicle use, experimental estimates.
45 Lavieri & Domenech, 2021, Electric Vehicle Uptake and Charging: A Consumer-Focused Review.
46 Funke et al., 2019, How much charging infrastructure do electric vehicles need? A review of the evidence and international comparison.
47 Lee et al., 2020, Exploring electric vehicle charging patterns: Mixed usage of charging infrastructure.
48 NSW Government Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, 2021, Drive electric NSW EV fleets incentive: Guidelines – Round one.
49 Transport for NSW, 2021, Zero Emission Bus Transition Strategy.
50 United Nations Population Division, 2018, World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.
51 Infrastructure Australia, 2018, Outer Urban Public Transport: Improving accessibility in lower density areas.
52 Keolis Downer, The Northern Beaches On Demand transport service Keoride reaches 3 year milestone
53 Based on Keolis Downer customer surveys conducted approximately every six months, with an average of 500 responses each survey.
54 Transport for NSW, 2021, New Bus Operator to Electrify Fleet.
55 Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2021, Australian Infrastructure and Transport Statistics Yearbook 2021.
56 International Transport Forum, 2022, Mode Share in Freight Transport.
57 Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2021, Australian Infrastructure and Transport Statistics Yearbook 2021.
58 Infrastructure Australia, 2016, Project Business Case Evaluation: Moorebank Intermodal Terminal
59 Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Clean energy and greener infrastructure, Moorebank Logistics Park, May 2021.
60 World Economic Forum, 2020, The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem.
61 Australia Post, 2021, Inside Australian Online Shopping: eCommerce Industry Report.
62 Australia Post, 2021, Australia Post welcomes first electric trucks to its delivery fleet.
63 Australia Post, 2021, Australia Post Annual Report 2021.
64 Ørsted, 2022, Partnership behind ‘Green Fuels for Denmark’ accelerates project and investigates production of green jet fuel by 2025.
65 Ayres et al., 2003, Exergy, power and work in the US economy, 1900–1998.
66 International Transport Forum, 2020, Navigating Towards Cleaner Maritime Shipping: Lessons from the Nordic Region.
67 The Australian Renewable Energy Agency, 2021, Exploring renewable hydrogen opportunities at the Port of Newcastle.
68 TasPorts, 2021, TasPorts enabling Tasmania’s green hydrogen future.
69 South Australian Department for Energy and Mining, 2021, $750 million green hydrogen project for Port Pirie.
70 Geelong Port, 2022, Climate Active Carbon Neutral.
71 NSW Ports, 2020, Environmental Incentive Factsheet.
72 UK Department of Transport, 2021, COP26: Clydebank Declaration for green shipping corridors.
73 Jamal, 2021, Property Council of Australia, Why embodied carbon is the next frontier.
74 Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment; Blue Environment, 2020, National Waste Report 2020.
75 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, 2022, Australian Infrastructure Budget Monitor 2021-22.
76 Yu et al., 2017, The Carbon Footprint of Australia’s Construction Sector.
77 International Renewable Energy Agency, 2020, Reaching Zero with Renewables: Eliminating CO2 emissions from industry and transport in line with the 1.5˚C climate goal.
78 Timperely, 2018, Carbon Brief, Q&A: Why cement emissions matter for climate change.
79 HeidelbergCement Group, 2020, HeidelbergCement to install the world’s first full-scale CCS facility in a cement plant.
80 Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2021, Decarbonizing Steel: A Net-Zero Pathway.
81 United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2021, Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative.
82 Yu et al., 2017, The Carbon Footprint of Australia’s Construction Sector.
83 Transurban, 2022, Melbourne roads to be wind powered; Transurban, 2022, Cleaner greener roads and tunnels; Transurban, 2021, Transurban submission to NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Road Tolling Regimes.
84 Transurban, 2021, Transurban submission to NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Road Tolling Regimes.
85 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, 2020, Putting waste to work: developing a role for energy from waste.
86 Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment; Blue Environment, 2020, National Waste Report 2020.
87 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, 2021, Australian Infrastructure Investment Report 2021.
88 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, 2021, Australian Infrastructure Investment Report 2021.
For more information
please contact
Mollie Matich
Director, Policy and Research
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
[email protected]
Jon Frazer
Director, Policy and Research
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
[email protected]
For media enquiries contact:
Michael Player
Director, Communications and Engagement
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
[email protected]
