As a result, Australian producers are under growing pressure as they strive to maintain cost competitiveness. This has led some to reevaluate their operations, choosing to either suspend or scale back operations as a strategy to preserve capital.   Struggling Australia Despite the higher production costs of Australian nickel, there is an expectation that it will have greater appeal in terms of ESG considerations compared to Indonesian supply. This is primarily due to Australia's more rapid adoption of renewable energy practices, in contrast to Indonesia's utilisation of the highly emissive RKEF process. Producers have proposed the introduction of a 'green' premium or a distinct contract on the LME to differentiate Australian supply's low carbon credentials from Indonesian supply, thus justifying its higher costs. However, the exchange has announced that there are no immediate plans in place to introduce such a contract.