Australia on Thursday passed climate laws targeting the biggest polluters that will force coal mines, smelters and refineries to cut emissions by around 5% a year.
“This is the first time that reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been enshrined in Australian law,” Tommy Wiedmann, a sustainability expert at the University of New South Wales, told AFP.
These laws apply to some 215 large industrial facilities – each producing over 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year – and form the backbone of Australia’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions. ‘by 2050.
By requiring these facilities to reduce their emissions by 4.9% per year, the government believes it can prevent the release of 200 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere over the next decade.
“That’s obviously a good thing. We now have a climate policy,” Wiedmann told AFP.
The government said the plan would end a decade of political wrangling, which has repeatedly frustrated attempts to tackle climate change.
He reached an agreement on the safeguard mechanism after several weeks of difficult negotiations with the left-wing Greens party.
For the leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, this is the first time that the obligation for oil and gas groups to reduce their emissions has been enshrined in law.
The Greens, previously skeptical and whose support was needed to get the laws passed, agreed to back the carbon plan after persuading the government to set a hard cap on emissions.
03/30/2023 07:41:10 – Sydney (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
