Safeguard Mechanism reforms passed by parliament

Australia’s parliament has passed the country’s most significant emissions reduction legislation in more than a decade after the government won backing from Greens and independent MPs for a plan to deal with pollution from major industrial sites.

Under the changes to the safeguard mechanism, costs for Santos's $4.7 billion Barossa gas project will increase significantly and revenue will decrease, according to a global climate analyst. 

And a group of Pacific Island students who were instrumental in pushing a UN resolution that should make it easier to hold polluting countries legally accountable for failure to act on the climate crisis have greeted its adoption as historic.

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Australia passes most significant climate law in a decade amid concern over fossil fuel exports
From 1 July, many of the country’s 215 major polluting facilities – including fossil fuel operations, other mines, refineries and smelters – will need to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, either through absolute cuts or by buying contentious carbon offsets. Together, they are responsible for about 30% of emissions in Australia.

Will Santos's $4.7 billion Barossa gas project go ahead?
Santos's Barossa gas project is one of the most carbon-intensive in the world. Will it still go ahead after the federal government's safeguard mechanism reforms?

‘Beginning of a new era’: Pacific islanders hail UN vote on climate justice
The resolution calls for the international court of justice (ICJ) to issue an opinion clarifying nations’ obligations to tackle the climate crisis and the consequences they should face for inaction.

Indigenous Australians can hear, smell and see the changing seasons, but they're not flowing like they used to
Stunning videos and images illustrate how the First Australians rely on cues in the world around us to determine the change of seasons, but climate change is disrupting the natural order. 

Indigenous voice referendum bill introduced to standing ovation but Peter Dutton fails to show
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has given the clearest details yet of how the Indigenous voice would work as the words to alter the constitution were presented to federal parliament.

Japan's Inpex says Australia risks unintended consequences as it 'quietly quits' LNG
The head of Japan's biggest oil and gas producer has warned that Australia risks undermining global security through a decision to "quietly quit" the international gas trade.

Draft rules for Tasmanian salmon industry provide less protections than those in place, critics say
New environmental standards proposed for the Tasmanian fish farming industry have been described as "half baked" and weaker than the ones already in place. 

Australians seek 'relief from the grid' as household battery uptake surges to record high
Last year was something of a turning point for household battery systems in Australia, with the number of new installations soaring

Safeguard mechanism has multibillion-dollar price tag for industry
Australia’s biggest polluters face a combined carbon offset bill of between $2 billion and $9 billion by 2030 under the government’s new climate policy, but major manufacturers say their lower emissions reduction target under the safeguard mechanism will spare consumers from significant flow-on costs.

Plans are taking off for Australia’s first sustainable jet fuel refinery
Plans are under way to develop Australia’s first ethanol biofuel refinery to produce sustainable aviation fuel under a new partnership between Qantas, Airbus and the Queensland government.