Scrap copper is prepared for recycling at a workshop in Anqing, in China’s eastern Anhui province on July 11, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
Free market think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, is concerned higher energy prices—due to the cost of net zero—will continue to wear away Australian manufacturing industries responsible for basic goods like nickel, plastics, and fertiliser.
Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild said blocking the development of cheaper traditional energy sources, like coal or uranium (for nuclear), was having a flow-on effect on energy reliant industries.
