Ahead of the incoming Labor Government confirming its final ministry, the Carbon Market Institute (CMI) has released a Post-election Briefing Paper outlining the foundations required to drive structural and lasting change to Australia’s climate policy beyond this term of government.
The CMI, an independent industry association and centre of excellence for business leading the transition to net zero emissions, has more than 130 members include primary producers, carbon project developers, Indigenous corporations, legal, technology and advisory services, insurers, banks, investors, corporate entities and emission intensive industries developing decarbonisation and offset strategies.
CMI CEO John Connor said the new government needed to work with all sectors of the economy to decrease emissions.
“CMI recognises ALP is unlikely in the short term to increase its 2030 emission reduction target of 43 per cent, but we should be building independent, investment grade, institutions and policies that can enable stronger voluntary as well as compliance efforts from business, all governments and the community,” said John Connor, CMI CEO.
“We need a whole of government, all sectors of the economy, approach that accelerates decarbonisation through 2030 to net-zero, indeed net-negative emission economy before 2050.
In its “Five priorities for climate action and carbon markets”, CMI notes industrial emissions will shortly overtake electricity emissions, making the development of “Safeguard Mechanism 2.0” an urgent but challenging priority to set decarbonisation investment guidelines for this sector. It also highlights key investments in international ‘climate finance’ and land-based climate and biodiversity solutions.
“Deficit repair shouldn’t hinder important investments in international climate finance or domestic priorities to build credibility as well as business and consumer confidence in Australia’s climate action and carbon markets.
“Late changes to carbon abatement contracts by the Morrison government will likely put more than $1 billion extra into what will now become the Powering the Regions Fund and clarifying the maintenance and priorities of this fund is important.”
“This Government will also need to develop the 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which Australia will share in 2025. This, and policies developed this term, will set the tone for successive five-yearly NDCs and the future trajectory and ambition of Australia’s decarbonisation.”
CMI’s paper outlines five priorities to drive this renewed approach:
1. Invigorating global and regional effort on climate action and carbon markets;
2. Strengthening the Safeguard Mechanism and other policies to ensure multi-sectoral decarbonisation;
3. Enhancing integrity, transparency and independent institutions;
4. Building trust and participation in land-based climate and biodiversity solutions;
5. Revitalising whole of government and Commonwealth/state relations.
“This historic election has enabled a Parliament highly supportive of climate action and de-fanged carbon tax scare campaigns. The Government and, indeed all in Parliament, have a historic opportunity to end the climate wars by renovating and revitalising Australia’s climate action and carbon markets that can’t be missed,” concluded Connor.
