Western Australia risks falling behind in the race for clean energy investment unless it attracts more skilled workers, businesses have warned.
A policy paper released by WA’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has found the state’s businesses are committed to acting on climate change and optimistic about the opportunities it presents.
Small business has grown as a sector since the pandemic, but so have the challenges ahead. Credit:Tribune
But many smaller and medium-sized firms are not well prepared to adapt their operations and are daunted by the challenge.
“They are finding embarking on the climate change adaptation and net-zero journey extremely complex and challenging, and the current suite of tools and resources available to support them overwhelming rather than helpful,” the chamber said on Tuesday.
One business, a medium-sized manufacturing company with plans to sell its products to Europe, reported being asked for the first time to provide details of its emissions profile.
“It is only a matter of time before this level of detail is required for all international business dealings,” the CCI said.
The paper, developed following consultation with thousands of member businesses, highlighted the need to import more skilled workers.
State and federal migration programs should capture the largest number of occupations possible, the chamber said.
It called for skilled migration visas to provide an option for permanent residency.
