CANBERRA(AP) By Dr. Majid Khan – Australia’s parliament passed landmark new legislation on Thursday. This will encourage the country’s largest greenhouse gas polluters to cut their emissions or pay carbon credits.
The centre-left Labor government said the reform of the so-called safeguard mechanism would allow Australia to reduce its emissions by the end of 2010 by 43% by 2005 and reach net zero emissions by 2050. said to be essential to achieve
The reform, which is due to come into force on his 1st July, will cap the country’s emissions and give Australia’s 215 most polluting entities a 4.9% annual reduction in emissions or carbon credits. I am pushing myself to reach my goals.
The law will create Australia’s first carbon price since the previous Labor government introduced a carbon tax in his 2012. The conservative government he abolished the tax in 2014 and has since rejected climate policies that impose a burden on polluters. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 32 to 26, with Labor senators backed by smaller Greens and neutral MPs.
The Greens, representing 11 senators, have started negotiations with Labor, demanding that no new coal and gas projects be allowed. But the Greens are happy that an agreement to severely limit emissions means half of the 116 proposed new coal and gas projects in Australia will not go ahead.
Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said limiting emissions would drive Australian industrial investment abroad to China and India, increasing costs for Australians.
O’Brien told parliament, referring to Australia’s unusually high inflation and interest rates, “This is pushing prices up in the middle of a livelihoods crisis where every household across the country is feeling the pain of rising prices. It is tax. The government claims that without this mechanism Australia could only reduce its emissions by 35% over a decade.
Emissions cannot exceed Australia’s current pollution level of 140 million tons (154 million US tons) per year, and this limit will decrease over time. Large polluters can buy carbon credits to meet their emissions reduction targets, but polluters using carbon credits to achieve more than 30% of their reductions will reduce their emissions. You should explain why you are not doing more to reduce.
The reform will reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 205 million tons (226 million US tons) by 2030. This equates to two-thirds of his Australian cars being removed from the road at the same time, the government said.
Conservative parties created the safeguards when they were in power in 2016. But emissions limits were so high that the 215 major polluters, who account for almost 30% of Australia’s emissions, were able to increase their emissions by 4%.
The previous government had set an unambitious target of reducing Australia’s emissions by 26% by 2030 from his low level of 28% in 2005.
The Climate Council, a leading climate communicator, described the reform as his first Australian law in a decade to regulate greenhouse gas pollution.
The Australian Petroleum Producers and Exploration Association, which represents oil and gas producers, said the reform would make gas more difficult to use to keep Australia away from more harmful coal and provide reliable support for renewable energy.
The Labor-controlled House of Commons passed the Senate amendment later on Thursday, where he voted 89-50. The House passed the bill on Monday.
