Renewable energy developers and operators are warning that Australia's decarbonisation efforts risk being derailed because of "mammoth" green spending plans by the United States.
In a deal that broke through years of deadlock in Washington over climate and energy policy, the US Congress last year passed landmark legislation introducing massive clean energy subsidies and buy-America provisions.
Known as the Inflation Reduction Act, the law includes $US369 billion ($529 billion) of taxpayer-funded incentives to turbocharge investment in renewable energy, electrification and development of clean industries such as green hydrogen.
The Clean Energy Council, which represents the renewable energy industry in Australia, said the vast scale of the IRA had completely changed the nature of the global shift towards decarbonisation.
CEC chief executive Kane Thornton said America's intervention had brought a sharper edge to the transition, intensifying the contest for the labour, materials and money needed to overhaul economies.
Mr Thornton warned it was a race Australia was in danger of losing unless governments led by the Commonwealth boosted their efforts to keep pace with the US.
He claimed that competition was already becoming so intense there were anecdotal reports of renewable energy companies having workers poached by the US before they could even arrive in Australia.
Pointing to one example, he said a company that hired a grid expert learned hours after the engineer was due to land in Australia "that he wasn't coming … he'd received an offer for twice the salary to head instead to the US".
US 'reshapes' energy landscape
"The Inflation Reduction Act introduced in the United States is a massive game changer," Mr Thornton said.
"Ultimately, what it does is create enormous incentives for things like green hydrogen and renewable energy to be built in the USA.
"What that does, therefore, is act like a magnet towards the USA for things like clean energy, for workers, for investment, for technology.
"[It becomes] a magnet for those sorts of things into the United States and all other things being a drain for those critical resources out of Australia."
In a submission to the federal government ahead of May's Budget, the Clean Energy Council has called for a major boost to Australia's support for renewable energy to ensure the country does not fall behind.
Among the measures it is seeking is an expansion of the renewable energy target, along with greater efforts to electrify homes, businesses and the transport system.
Australia's plans 'under threat'
On top of this, the CEC also wants the government to provide tax breaks for clean industries such as green hydrogen production, arguing Australia must act quickly if it plans to become a renewable energy superpower.
"The opportunity for us to become a global clean energy superpower is now under threat," he said.
"The US is now leading what is a global clean energy arms race.
"The Australian government has taken some strong steps in the last six months to try and put Australia back in the race for clean energy globally.
"While Australia may not need to exactly meet what's being introduced in the US, we can't be complacent."
The calls come as other economies — including the giant European Union bloc — weigh up how to respond to America's largesse.
This follows news that some European companies were already choosing to invest in America rather than their home markets because of the incentives on offer.
For recruitment manager Ryan Carroll, Australia was competing not only to attract overseas workers but to retain those already here.
The 41-year-old is the regional director of global labour hire company Airswift, which specialises in the energy industry.
Demand 'greater than supply'
Mr Carroll said Airswift's own research had shown that most energy workers were willing to travel for jobs, especially to countries with supportive policies.
To that end, he said Australia was currently lagging behind the US and Europe, where longer-term career opportunities seemed more assured.
"The market is really strong," Mr Carroll said.
"The first thing that we really need to understand is there's a bit of an imbalance between the size of the opportunity… versus the availability of talent."
According to Mr Carroll, Australia had big advantages to offer prospective workers, including "a great lifestyle", strong and stable laws and a pipeline of renewable energy projects valued at $1 trillion.
However, he noted that many of the proposed projects had yet to be sanctioned by their financiers, suggesting there was still a mismatch between investor confidence and government policies.
In any case, he said the demand for the skilled labour required for the energy transition was only likely to grow stronger.
"Our forecasts tell us that the heat is here to stay," Mr Carroll said.
"There is no clear and obvious place for us to go and take talent from at the moment, which makes things challenging but also exciting.
"And as I said … it's the better problem to have."
Australia 'at front of the queue'
Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen insisted the IRA was "good thing for the planet, it's a good thing for the United States ... and it's about as important for emissions reduction as the signing of the Paris Agreement all those years ago".
Mr Bowen said the changes were "an opportunity as well as a challenge", noting Australia stood to be a key supplier to the US under the Act, unlike many other countries including America's allies in Europe.
"Certainly in my discussions with the United States, they've made it clear to me that they know they can't do it all alone," Mr Bowen said.
The Minister also argued that while it was undoubtedly a race among countries seeking to decarbonise, Australia had already made up significant ground.
He pointed out that since last year's federal election, Australia had legislated a carbon reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030, set a goal of generating 82 per cent of the country's electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade, and pledged a scheme to underwrite new back-up sources of power such as batteries.
"This is part of the mix that we're always responding to," Mr Bowen said.
"It's not just the Inflation Reduction Act.
"Right around the world things are moving fast.
"Australia is now for the first time right in that race and catching up fast."
Natural advantages 'not enough'
Mr Thornton said Australia could not rest on its laurels.
"Of course, Australia does have some of the best renewable energy resources in the world," Mr Thornton said.
"We have incredible wind and solar and water resources. But unfortunately, that's not going to be enough.
"We are going to need to take some strong measures to try and match to some degree what's on offer in the United States because if we don't, we're just going to see that investment and that renewable technology head offshore."
