It seems that the dream of passing a law to reduce the emissions of major fossil fuel companies in Australia has finally come true, after long discussions between the government and MPs, with the aim of controlling pollution from major industrial sites.
Parliament succeeded in ratifying the most important law to reduce emissions in Australia – the third largest importer of fossil fuels in the world – after obtaining the support of the opposition Green Party and independent MPs.
After weeks of negotiations behind closed doors, the government has finally reached agreement on a crucial law that contributes to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, according to a report published by the British newspaper The Guardian, which was seen by the specialized energy platform.
The law aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43%, compared to 2005 levels, by the end of the current decade in 2030.
Reducing emissions in Australia
Starting July 1 of this year (2023), many of the 215 most polluting facilities – including fossil fuel companies, mines and refineries – will have to reduce their emissions intensity by 5% annually, either through an absolute reduction of emissions or by The controversial carbon offset purchase route.
Under the new law, individual companies can purchase an unlimited number of carbon offsets, but total absolute emissions cannot be increased and must be reduced over time.
New gas fields intended for export abroad must offset all carbon dioxide emissions, which will lead to higher costs for the developers of these projects.
The provisions of the new law also include an explicit condition that total emissions from major industrial facilities must be reduced, not just compensated for, according to the report.
political disagreement
The deal to pass changes to the policy, known as the safeguard mechanism, is key to the commitment of the current Labor government led by Anthony Albanese, who came to power in May 2022 with a promise to reverse the country’s reputation as a laggard on climate change.
The Greens claim that the agreement will lead to a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects in Australia, but have acknowledged that the law will prevent the expansion of the industry.
The ruling Labor Party rejected an initial offer from the Greens (a minority party with 15 MPs) to support the bill, if the government agreed to ban all new coal and gas projects; In line with scientific warnings in this regard.
On the other hand, the bill has been opposed by the right-wing National Liberal Coalition, although it was they who introduced the protection mechanism in 2016.
He promised – at the beginning – that the protection mechanism would stop the increase in emissions of the industrial sector, but in reality he repeatedly allowed companies to release emissions outside the site limits without penalty.
The coalition’s climate change spokesman, Ted O’Brien, said the changes to the mechanism made it an “undisclosed tax on carbon emissions”, which would add to the costs of increasing those emissions.
Historic achievement
For his part, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen hailed the deal, calling it a “historic fix”, which promises to make up for the decade-long inaction on the climate crisis under the right-wing coalition government that held power from 2013 until last year (2022). .
The minister said the agreement would lead to a 205-tonne reduction in emissions by 2030, describing it as taking two-thirds of the country’s cars off the road.
“Today is a historic day for the country to ensure our economy takes advantage of opportunities to decarbonise and achieve our ambitious climate goals,” Bowen added.
Green Party leader Adam Bandt described negotiations with the government as “negotiating with the political wing” of coal and gas companies, but said fossil fuels had “taken a heavy blow”.
He continued, “To all those who give up on the future and want real climate action, today you have to rejoice because we beat the coal and gas companies and won.”
The Greens leader added: “The war is not over yet, because we are in the middle of the climate crisis, and the Labor Party still wants to open more coal and gas projects.”
The agreement between the government and the Green Party – also – received wide support among senior industry and business groups, as well as environmental groups, but they called on the government to stop allowing companies to expand fossil fuel exports.
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