The Albanese Government welcomes the final reports from two reviews by the independent Climate Change Authority (CCA), into the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme and the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will work across government and in close consultation with stakeholders to develop a government response to all the recommendations no later than mid-2024 and will progress work already underway.
In their report on the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme, the CCA found the scheme is performing well and continuing to play its crucial role in meeting Australia’s international energy and emissions reporting obligations and underpinning the Safeguard Mechanism.
The CCA made 25 recommendations focused on enhancements to data transparency, coverage, methane emissions measurement, reporting and verification, and administration.
Australia’s emissions measurement and reporting is world leading, and the Albanese Government is committed to ensuring integrity across emissions accounting.
That’s why the Safeguard reforms included keys steps to expand transparency with NGER data and the Government is already working with stakeholders on enhancements that can be made to emissions reporting methods.
The Government will work closely with stakeholders to consider whether recommendations related to agriculture and land reporting are the best way to achieve the desire for better emissions accounting tools for those sectors, including through the agriculture and land sectoral plan currently being developed.
The CCA also found the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (CFI Act) was fundamentally well designed, with robust governance, compliance and enforcement structures – noting that these robust settings were a strength and rarity in carbon offset schemes.
The CCA made 15 recommendations including further enhancements to increase ACCU Scheme transparency and increasing Scheme participation by supporting First Nations, rural, regional and remote communities.
Work is already underway on aspects of 12 of the 15 recommendations through implementation of the Independent Review of the ACCU Scheme recommendations, which commenced in early 2023.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the Government will continue its climate policy reform agenda to ensure these schemes remain robust and fit-for-purpose.
“After a decade of denial and delay in which the former government cut significant funding to the independent CCA, the restored authority now has a rightful place in providing advice to Government in an open and transparent way,” Minister Bowen said.
“The Government will be taking a comprehensive and consultative approach in responding to these reviews and progressing work already underway that is consistent with the CCA’s advice”.
“We will ensure that any regulatory changes are informed by stakeholder consultation, sound science and best practice.”
The CCA is required to review the CFI Act every 3 years and the NGER Scheme every 5 years.
