THE breakthrough climate laws approved by the Australian Parliament will force the biggest greenhouse gas polluters I’m country to reduce their emissions or pay for carbon credits.
Under the Safeguard Mechanism reforms, Australia’s 215 most polluting facilities must reduce their emissions by 4.9% a year or pay for carbon credits.
These polluters include fossil fuel operations, aluminum smelters, coal mines, and oil refineries, among others.
Each of the said facilities produces more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, and together, they are responsible for about 30% of emissions in Australia.
The reforms are essential for Australia to reach its target of reducing its emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade and net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Albanese administration hopes the initiative can stop 200 million tonnes of carbon from being pumped into the atmosphere over the next decade.
The reforms are set to take effect on the 1st of July.
Experts said the new laws mark the end of the bitter “climate wars” or a decade of political fighting that has repeatedly delayed attempts to address global warming in Australia.
