Hi David, it’s a real shame that the carbon tax in Australia got pilloried, thanks in no small part to misinformation from the Minerals Council, New Corpse and the LNP. Here in Canada the tax is due to rise from $40 to $50 per tCO2e, but has been delayed due to the pandemic (not sure why though). One issue that I haven’t explored is how imports are accounted for, and the veracity of carbon accounting. It would be interesting to look into the effects that the tax has had on on producers and importers here, if anybody has a link or a paper!
Of course, for most materials, the emissions are dictated by the electricity source, and it’s great to see that solar is now the cheapest energy source worldwide, including against existing thermal coal plants. So I believe the shift to renewables will only accelerate, and EVs will overtake ICEs - the efficiency improvements of electrification are hugely beneficial, you can read more on this at Rewiring America, but the same should apply worldwide.
Going beyond the carbon issue we are still consuming far too many resources to be anywhere close to sustainable. With 100% electrification carbon sequestering materials may make new builds more viable, provided that they don’t degrade the environment too much. I’m keen to explore agricultural waste products as building materials, I think Ortech in Bendigo VIC has a great product, but if they’re powered from Loy Yang then the emissions are huge!