Presents the Climate Change Authority\u27s recommendations on Australia\u27s future emissions reduction targets, and constitutes the first part of the Authority\u27s response to the Special Review requested by the Minister for the Environment in December 2014.
Background
This report builds on the work in the Authority\u27s recent report, Reducing Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions—Targets and Progress Review , which was provided to the Minister (and released publicly) on 27 February 2014. That report, which reflected extensive public consultation, presented the Authority’s comprehensive assessment of the evidence coming from climate scientists, the efforts being made by other countries to reduce their emissions, and the targets judged to be in Australia’s best interests. The Authority recommended a target for 2020 and a trajectory range for emissions out to 2030. It also recommended a long-term emissions budget to guide Australia’s planning over the period to 2050.
Weighing up all the relevant factors, the Authority recommended a 2020 target for Australia of 19 per cent below 2000 levels. By way of guidance for the period beyond 2020, the Authority recommended a trajectory range to 2030 of emissions reductions of between 40 and 60 per cent below 2000 levels. Under the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth) the Government was obliged to respond to these recommendations by the end of August 2014 but, with the repeal of that Act, this obligation lapsed.
In preparing this current report, the Authority has revisited the material underpinning its February 2014 report and updated its analysis in the light of new information that has emerged since that time, particularly in regard to the science of climate change and the recent efforts of many countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Authority believes this new information supports its previous assessment that Australia\u27s conditions for moving some way beyond its unconditional target have been met. These conditions included increased clarity around the level and credibility of international action and agreement on emissions accounting and reporting. Australia\u27s commitment under the UNFCCC includes an unconditional emissions reduction target of 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020, and conditional targets of up to 15 or 25 per cent.
The present Government has shown no inclination to move beyond the unconditional 2020 target. The consequences of limiting Australia\u27s emissions reductions to this minimum 5 per cent target have been factored into the Authority’s consideration of appropriate post-2020 targets.
 
