WA joins AAA-rated club, despite carbon transition risk

WA joins AAA-rated club, despite carbon transition risk

Western Australia has joined the ranks of the world’s top-rated AAA membership with an improve and a secure outlook, regardless of publicity to carbon transition danger.

WA’s monetary efficiency topped many home and worldwide friends by way of the pandemic and is predicted to stay resilient to exterior shocks, rankings company Moody’s Investors Service stated on Tuesday.

“We expect Western Australia’s exceptionally strong financial performance and debt management, as well as very strong governance, will continue,” Moody’s vice-president John Manning stated.

The state’s long-term publicity to carbon transition danger from producing liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) is predicted to be offset by future wealth in battery supply-chain supplies wanted for electrification.

WA accounted for 12 per cent of worldwide LNG exports and greater than half (56 per cent) of Australia’s LNG exports in 2021.

But Moody’s stated the state’s mineral sources embody commodities thought-about essential to international decarbonisation efforts, together with lithium and uncommon earths.

Providing a buffer to commodity worth cycles, Moody’s stated it expects WA to make use of future windfall features from excessive commodity costs to additional diversify its income base, pay down debt or fund capital expenditure.

The state has additionally been assessed as susceptible to local weather change-related pure disasters akin to water stress and bushfires that may trigger materials financial disruptions.

In addition to the impression on agricultural manufacturing, the state’s dry local weather exposes its inhabitants to water danger, however that has been offset by funding in desalination vegetation, groundwater replenishment and water recycling.

Moody’s upgraded the long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt rankings of Western Australian Treasury Corporation to AAA from AA1.

The state’s publicity to environmental dangers was assessed as reasonably damaging.

Source: www.perthnow.com.au