The Climate Change Authority (the Authority) has released its first consultation paper of the year: an Issues Paper titled ‘Setting, Tracking and Achieving Australia’s Emission Reduction Targets’.
The issues paper seeks input on a broad range of topics to inform the Authority’s advice on tracking progress to emissions reduction targets and setting a target for 2035. It also seeks input on the Authority’s legislative reviews of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act) and the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (CFI Act), which establishes the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
The Authority is an independent statutory authority established under the Climate Change Authority Act 2011 to provide expert advice to the Australian Government on climate change. This year, the Authority will conduct its first concurrent reviews of the NGER Act and the CFI Act. Both reviews are due to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy by 31 December this year.
The Authority is interested in hearing your views on:
- the strengths and weaknesses of the NGER and ACCU schemes
- how the NGER and ACCU schemes could be improved in the context of the Paris Agreement era
- methane measurement, reporting and verification in the NGER scheme
- any concerns about ACCU integrity that remain following the adoption of the recommendations of the Independent Review of ACCUs
- how a potential new buffer could be applied for further assurance of ACCU additionality and conservativeness.
The Authority also welcomes broader commentary, information, research, data, evidence and submissions made to other consultation processes, including the recent Independent Review of ACCUs.
Submissions are invited by Friday 30 June 2023. Please visit the Authority's consultation hub for more information.