Promises were made during this last election and now the government is following through on it’s commitment to going green. The Government’s Climate Change Bill passed the House of Representatives in early August and is now before the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee for review. How does this effect us?
Under the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty, Australia and 192 other parties committed to greatly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius while pursuing efforts to limit the increase even further to 1.5 degrees. As part of this commitment, the parties are required to communicate their emissions reduction ambitions through a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). On 16 June 2022, Australia communicated its updated NDC to the UN, confirming Australia’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and a new, increased target of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 (a 15% increase on the previous target). The Climate Change Bill enshrines these emission targets into legislation. This Bill sets an accountability framework.
The Government has committed to:
$20bn investment in Australia’s electricity grid to accelerate the decarbonisation.
An additional $300m to deliver community batteries and solar banks across Australia.
Up to $3bn investment in the new National Reconstruction Fund to support renewables manufacturing and low emissions technologies.
Powering the Regions Fund to support the development of new clean energy industries and
the decarbonisation priorities of existing industry.
Double existing investment in electric vehicle charging and establish hydrogen refuelling infrastructure (to $500m).
Review the effectiveness of the Emissions Reduction Fund that provides businesses with the opportunity to earn Australian carbon credit units for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent a business stores or avoids emitting through adopting new practices and technologies.
New standardised and internationally aligned reporting requirements for climate risks and opportunities for large businesses.
Reduce the emissions of Commonwealth Government agencies to net zero by 2030.
It’s not all about industry reductions though, because even the changing use of land ie a reduction in deforestation can have a dramatic affect on emissions.
The energy sector is at the heart of climate change producing around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Australia, the CSIRO says energy contributes approximately 33.6% of all emissions, with a further 20.54% from stationary energy (from manufacturing, mining, residential and commercial fuel use), transport 17.6%, and agriculture 14.6%. The future of the energy industry is also at the crux of the Government Powering Australia policy.
Expect changes as the Government adopts low carbon materials on public projects and manages emission reductions heading into the future to meet with their predicted long term goals.