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The Albanese government’s proposed Climate Change Bill 2022 has passed both houses of Parliament.
Introduced with the new bill, the government aims to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by the year 2030, and ultimately achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The bill will also provide that the climate change minister must give an annual statement to Parliament, which must be tabled and include updates on the nation’s progress towards meeting targets of emission reduction.
The climate change minister will be provided with any advice in relation to the annual statement and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions targets as communicated to the United Nations under the Paris Agreement by a newly restored climate change authority.
This advice will be provided to the government every five years.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen stated: “[T]he Climate Change Authority’s advice will provide an independent, expert, authoritative assessment of Australia’s contribution to global action.
“The Climate Change Authority will consult on the advice that it gives to government on targets, which will mean that the Australian community will be able to contribute to that advice, and it will provide an independent, expert assessment of Australia’s proper contribution to global action.”
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Ms Bowen stated that the bill will be “accompanied and complemented” by the Climate Change (Consequential Amendments) Bill, in order to “embed emission reduction targets into the objectives and functions of a range of government entities and schemes”.
“The bill lays the crucial foundation, upon which the policies and measures to come will be built,” Mr Bowen said.
“While the commitment to reach net zero by 2050 is a key target to be legislated by this bill, the Australian people gave us a mandate for a more meaningful 2030 target, which we have now already committed to achieve under the Paris Agreement.”
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) recently commissioned a study from the McKell Institute, The Cost of Extreme Weather, which revealed that Australians are paying $1,532 on average due to extreme weather as a result of climate change.
Over the last 10 years, the average annual household cost of extreme weather has been $888, however that figure is expected to increase to more than $2,500 a year by 2050.
The rise in the average household cost across 2021–22 is largely attributable to the cost of the record-breaking February–March floods. Included in the costs are government expenses paid for taxes, insurance costs, uninsured damage and increased prices due to supply chain shortages.
[RELATED: Disasters cost households more than $1000, study reveals]
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