Shake-Up Of The Australian Carbon Market

Accelerating Emissions Reductions

Over the coming weeks and months, the Australian Parliament will debate proposed reforms to important aspects of the country's emissions reduction plans. If enacted, the reforms will have significant impact on emissions-intensive businesses operating in Australia, as well as serious ramifications for the broader domestic carbon market.

Australia's current emissions cap regime applies to all industrial facilities in the country which emit more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) in a year (i.e., approximately 215 'Safeguard' facilities). This regime imposes a 'baseline' limit of the amount of Scope 1 emissions that a Safeguard facility is permitted to emit over the course of a year.