While the scope of the 2026-27 Review was published at the time of the Safeguard Mechanism reforms in 2023, its reach appears to have expanded with the publication of the Net Zero Plan and the Carbon Leakage Review Final Report. The Review also comes at a time of increasing geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

These opening presentations will provide context on the government’s intended scope of the 2026-2027 Review and key topics for consultation with industry.

Speakers on this first panel will contemplate the importance of policy stability and certainty in Australia’s carbon market, to support investment decision making both in the industrial context and towards broader abatement efforts in the land sector. The need for capital and foreign investment to support emissions reductions at scale calls for policy that is well-signalled with considered timing. Concerns regarding climate policy durability, future compliance settings and the associated long-term liability create unnecessary extra costs and financing barriers to investment in on-site decarbonisation and ACCU Scheme carbon projects. The panel will also critically analyse ways in which the Safeguard Mechanism could be calibrated to enable its longer-term effectiveness.

To address the policy goal of decarbonising Australia’s industrial sectors, further incentives for on-site, or direct, emission reduction should be considered, while preserving flexibility where on-site abatement is not yet viable. To date, emissions reduction investment in Safeguard Mechanism facilities has largely been driven by complementary policies, government assistance, and the availability of low-cost abatement opportunities rather than the Safeguard reforms. The next tranche of on-site decarbonisation opportunities is materially more complex and may require adjustment to the Safeguard Mechanism as well as complimentary policies. This panel will explore what additional policy reform may be needed to enable Australia’s next tranche of industrial decarbonisation projects.