The Climate Change Authority (CCA) today released its Final Report on Australia’s Future Emissions Reduction Targets. The report issued by A/G CEO Shayleen Thompson and underpinned by the CCA Chair Bernie Fraser’s statement includes unambiguous recommendations for:
- a 2025 target of 30 per cent below 2000 levels
- further reductions by 2030 of 40 to 60 per cent below 2000 levels
The Government is required to decide Australia’s targets soon leading up to COP15 in Paris this December, and has been under plenty of pressure from other parties including China and the USA to provide credible action. The depth of the targets we propose will have immediate domestic policy impacts also, namely in the form of the Safeguard Mechanism which is designed to protect against emissions growth in the absence of a carbon price and in support of the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). It is envisaged that significant targets post 2020 must be underpinned by a strong and decreasing baseline under the Safeguard Mechanism under the current Direct Action Policy. Stay tuned!