Australia’s largest polluters will be mandated to reduce carbon emissions following a climate deal that the government reached on Monday, ending “10 years of denial.”
The agreement requires the 215 most polluting facilities in Australia, including coal mines and gas plants, to decrease their net emissions by approximately five percent annually until 2030.
Fossil fuels and mining play a crucial role in supporting the Australian economy, and efforts to reduce carbon pollution have been obstructed repeatedly over the past decade due to acrimonious political disputes.
After weeks of contentious negotiations with the left-leaning Greens party, the Australian government finally reached a consensus on the Safeguard Mechanism legislation. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remarked that Australia was now meeting its obligations after a decade of denial, delay, and inaction.
“We can’t afford to continue to engage in conflict in this place in order to try to get the perfect outcome,” he said.
Australia has pledged to reduce its emissions by 43 percent before the end of 2030, and the government predicts the new system will take some 200 million tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere.
Barring any last-minute hitch, the agreed legislation is likely to pass parliament’s upper house this week and come into force on July 1.
