Australia passes laws to curb big industrial polluters

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Australia passes laws to curb big industrial polluters

SYDNEY: Breakthrough Climate laws passed by Australia on Thursday will target the nation's worst polluters, forcing coal mines and oil refineries to curb emissions by about five percent each year.

Experts said the laws signaled the end of Australia's bitter climate wars - a decade of political brawling that has repeatedly derailed attempts to tackle climate change.

It's the first time greenhouse gas emissions reduction has been written into Australian law, according to University of New South Wales sustainability expert Tommy Wiedmann.

That's a good thing. He told the AFP that we have a policy on climate.

The laws apply to 215 major industrial facilities - each producing more than 100,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year - and are the backbone of Australia's pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The government believes that it can stop 200 million tons of carbon being pumped into the atmosphere over the next decade.

Aluminium smelters, coal mines, oil refineries, and other large polluters will have to reduce emissions by 4.9 per cent each year.

After weeks of high stakes bargaining with the left-wing Greens party, the government struck a deal on the so-called Safeguard Mechanism.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said the laws compelled oil and gas companies to slash emissions for the first time ever in law. The previously sceptical Greens agreed to back the carbon plan after persuading the government to put a hard cap on emissions.

Wiedmann warned Australia could not rest on its laurels, despite many praised the laws as a crucial first step.

He said that it is not enough on its own to reduce emissions and avoid dangerous climate change.

The hard decisions will come in the next few years. In that sense, it is a step in the right direction. Australia's mining industry has warned that the financial burden of compliance could lead to massive job losses.

Some facilities will close in Australia if we are not careful, the Minerals Council of Australia said before the laws are passed.

Not only would that damage our economy and slash tens of thousands of regional jobs and billions in investment, but it also would push the emissions reduction burden onto other nations that are less willing to decarbonise. The mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP operate a number of mines and smelters that will have to make emissions cuts.

Australia's Climate Council estimates that the 215 facilities are responsible for almost 30 per cent of the country's total emissions.