ESG Markers: Budget edition special
26 October 2022 at 12:02 am
Budget signals transparent and accountable climate action and mandatory climate risk disclosure alongside enhanced climate modelling capabilities, writes Terence Jeyaretnam.
The government has enshrined in law emissions reduction targets of 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism are expected to support whole-of-economy emissions reductions and align the economy with green growth opportunities.
To provide transparency on Australia’s progress against these targets, the government has budgeted $42.6 million to restore the Climate Change Authority, introducing an annual climate change statement to parliament and increasing transparency around climate-related spending in the budget.
The federal budget also includes funding that is signalling a move to a mandatory disclosure regime, with $6.2 million set aside over four years “for the Treasury and the Australian Accounting Standards Board to develop and introduce climate reporting standards for large businesses and financial institutions, in line with international reporting requirements”.
The budget also sets aside $36.1m over four years to support enhanced capabilities to model climate risks and capabilities as well as to Treasury and the Australian Accounting Standards Board to develop and introduce climate reporting standards for large businesses and financial institutions in line with international reporting requirements.
Budget funds Great Barrier Reef protection & ecosystem restoration
The budget is increasing funding for the Great Barrier Reef to $1.2 billion by 2030. This is intended to accelerate and scale up reef protection and restoration activities and address gaps in the implementation of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.
Specifically, $15.3 million will ensure the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre in Gladstone is completed. The Centre will provide world-class science to guide management of the Reef in a changing climate.
In addition, the budget provides $224.5 million over four years “to support actions to slow the rate of environmental and native species decline and lay the foundations for longer-term support and recovery of Australia’s native species and special landscapes”.
The government will also deliver $1.1 billion in Natural Heritage Trust funding over six years aimed at meeting commitments made around protecting 30 per cent by 2030. An initial investment of $91.1 million over six years will clean up and restore urban waterways, protect local species and improve liveability for communities is also planned.
Indigenous Protected Areas will be maintained and expanded, with an additional $66.5 million over five years driving us closer to the target of protecting 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030. $14.7 million will support First Nations-led action to identify and protect heritage places.
This includes pursuing new World Heritage listings for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and Flinders Ranges. In total, the government is looking to make a $1.8 billion investment in strong action to protect, restore and manage the natural environment.
Climate transition funding emerges as priority
The budget allocates $141.1 million over 10 years to carbon capture technologies, specifically focussed on hard-to-abate industries such as cement and negative emissions technologies, such as direct capture of CO2 from air.
It also provides $62.6 million over three years to fund energy efficiency upgrades in small to medium enterprises. Other transition measures include over $200m for 400 community batteries, about $80m for microgrid technologies in first nation communities, over $70 million for a green hydrogen hub in Townsville, $45 million for international engagement on climate change as well as funding for Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) ($275m), Torres Strait Climate Change Centre of Excellence and the Environmental Defenders Office and Environmental Justice Australia.
Finally, the budget is also providing $102.2 million for the Community Solar Banks program to help up to 25,000 households access cheap solar-powered energy.
The budget is also addressing growing skills demands in the clean energy sector by committing over $100 million to the New Energy Apprenticeships and New Energy Skills programs.
The programs is intended to help apprentices acquire necessary skills by developing a new mentoring program and providing up to $10,000 for each apprentice in a clean energy role.
