Year - 2024 Partners - AMWU (Western Australia), Australian Steel Institute, Conservation Council WA, Labour Environment Action Network, Labour Environmental Policy Centre

Western Australia is the world’s largest iron ore producer, mining more than 860 million tonnes of iron ore in 2023, equivalent to 39% of global supply. Iron ore is Australia’s single largest export:

• it was worth $136bn in 2023 (20% of Australia’s exports by value; 33% of resource and energy commodity exports in 2023-24)

• royalties from the industry account for 85% of WA’s royalty revenue and 25% of the WA government’s general revenue.

Iron ore mining, processing, and manufacturing into iron and steel products is extremely emissions intensive. Global steel-making emissions contribute 7-9% of total global emissions in any given year. 

The world must urgently decarbonise and a net zero world will need to have almost completely decarbonised steel production. International steelmakers are already investing in new non-WA supplies of ore (as the bulk of exports from the Pilbara are not compatible with the predominant existing green steel technologies) - this is putting Australia’s largest export industry, in its current form, at risk of collapse. 

The WA iron ore industry requires policy support and targeted investment by the Commonwealth and WA governments to ensure Australia becomes the world’s top green iron producer in the fast-arriving low-emissions economy.

Forging Our Future shows how WA can produce 122 million tonnes of green iron per year by 2040 to deliver:

• $380bn in GDP

• $350bn in real income 

• $167bn in Commonwealth and WA state taxation

• a new WA export industry worth $340.2bn ($76bn in exports in 2040)

• 24,000 ongoing jobs in WA, with an additional 150,000 construction jobs created over 14 years

These actions will simultaneously drive down emissions from Australia’s and our region’s steel industry - with a reduction of 274 MtCO2-e of emissions per annum in 2040, equivalent to half of Australia’s annual national emissions.

Governments alongside industry and workers can apply the lessons of how rapid industrialisation has been achieved in the past. The report sets out requirements needed to build a green iron industry in WA quickly:

• Build industry - 6 requirements to achieve scale quickly and responsibly

• Work for workers - 2 requirements to ensure secure jobs and a say for workers

• Ensure justice – 2 requirements to guarantee benefits are shared fairly.