The Australia Institute welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Climate Change Bill 2022 and Consequential Amendments Bill 2022 (hereafter ‘the Bills’). The Bills are a valuable framework to ensure transparency and accountability of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, including by ensuring the provision of evidence-based advice from the Climate Change Authority to inform future targets and increased ambition.

While enshrining an emissions reduction target in legislation may assist in achieving the target, ultimately meeting those goals will depend on other legislation and policy governing Australia’s most high-emitting sectors.

Ongoing and unfettered fossil fuel expansion is incompatible with a net zero emissions strategy and could jeopardise Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target.