There is no doubt that 2023 has been a significant year for climate law and policy reform, both in Australia and overseas. For Australian businesses, few reforms have been more noteworthy than the introduction of long-awaited changes to the Emissions Reduction Safeguard Mechanism, and the ongoing development of global and domestic climate, sustainability and nature-related risk disclosure standards.
Here, we recap on these key developments and what they mean for Australian businesses as we approach the end of the year.
Safeguard Mechanism reforms commence
Following months of consultation, 1 July 2023 saw the commencement of reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism established under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) (NGER Act) and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Safeguard Mechanism) Rule 2015 (Cth).
Under the reforms, the baselines for designated large facilities will decline on a trajectory aligned with achieving Australia’s updated emission reduction targets of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050. This decline rate is set at 4.9% per year to 2030 for most facilities, with particular trade-exposed facilities eligible to apply for a discounted…
