CMI Update
As a month of significant international and corporate climate action ended, May opened with a strong statement of domestic intent from the Victorian Government. The independently advised, carbon budget driven, five yearly emission reduction target approach to attaining net-zero emissions is fundamental and best practice. Their sectoral approach is important with a welcome start to more structured support for carbon farming opportunities in a state that has lagged behind others in the realisation of these opportunities.
US President Joe Biden’s Leaders’ Summit highlighted the increasing international climate action ambition as the comparative timeframes for action shorten. After years of a vague focus on “low carbon economy” aspirations, discourse has shifted to 2050 net-zero emission goals and, importantly, the credibility of national, sub-national and corporate plans to get there, including their 2030 targets. Announcements at the Summit or prior now mean that over 50% of global GDP is aligned with an emissions reduction trajectory designed to keep average global warming to 1.5ºC and that 70% of the global economy is now covered by a net zero target, including every G7 country. Economies with similarly high levels of climate ambition are likely to develop improved terms of trade between them, disadvantaging those lagging behind.
With countries like Australia falling behind this increased ambition, investments in the transition may end up unevenly distributed. CMI did, however, welcome the government’s announcement to fund development of Article 6 capacity building in the Indo-Pacific. This represents a clear and timely shift in policy towards more open and constructive engagement in international carbon markets. The Long-Term Emission Reduction Strategy remains a crucial milestone for increased Australian ambition and technology deployment this decade and thereafter.
CMI will continue to push our Advocacy Positions to the Government and to the ALP as it develops its policy. At the ALP Summit last month I made the point that they will need to have a clear and funded transition plan if they are to move from the taxpayer driven Emissions Reduction Fund to a more business driven approach such as through a stronger Safeguard Mechanism.
The scrutiny on corporate action, terminology and transparency continues to escalate. In consultation with members we made submissions to the Science Based Targets Initiative and the Clean Energy Regulator’s CERT disclosure proposal, they are detailed below. CMI has been working hard with our membership in taskforces and bespoke engagement as well as integrity and engagement platforms such as the Code of Conduct and the forthcoming CMI Summit. It has been heartening to see this reflected in a surge of membership as we crossed the 100-member threshold, a 36% surge this financial year. If not with us already, your company can join the action and benefits outlined in our membership prospectus.
Finally, the support for the Summit at the end of next month has been tremendous, so make sure you register for Destination Zero and Beyond!
John Connor
CEO
Carbon Market Institute
