The response to the federal election on Saturday from sustainability and climate leaders was fulsome and overwhelmingly positive. Follow is a sample of what they said.
Jillian Button, partner and head of climate change at legal firm Allens, nailed it for corporates. She told her social media followers that:
- The government’s sustainable finance strategy stands, so in the near term, look out for Treasury’s guidance on credible climate transition plans and consultation on a sustainable product labelling regime.
- Full steam ahead with mandatory climate related financial reporting, and the ratchet down of scope 1 emissions under the Safeguard Mechanism.
- Look out for a rebooted version of the government’s stalled nature positive reform package, with zero hints being dropped about what that might look like. The build out of methods under the nature repair market will also continue.
- Look out for Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target, and a formal bid to co-host COP31 in Adelaide, in partnership with Pacific nations.
- Bigger focus on renewables, with nuclear now off the table.
And perhaps more importantly, she said that “atmospherically, the emphatic election result also surely marks Australia out as a country willing to counter anti-ESG headwinds from abroad. The likely change in Senate composition will also reinforce Australia as an ongoing vanguard for progressive policy on sustainability.
Max Van Biene from Edge Impact said the election result meant that
- climate legislation is locked in, and timelines are not moving.
- if you’re a Group 1 business and haven’t started, you’re rapidly running out of time. Group 2 businesses? The window to get going is now just months away.
- packaging regulation is back on the table.
- it wasn’t front-page news during the campaign, but expect movement on mandatory packaging rules and extended producer responsibility schemes.
- nuclear is out. Renewables (and transmission) are back in.
- we’re likely to see increased investment in transmission upgrades and the infrastructure needed to support large-scale renewables.
- nature positive reform is likely just around the corner.
- with climate disclosure now established, and the Nature Repair Market launched, we expect fresh momentum behind legislation that supports nature-positive outcomes.
Climate Council
It was clear that Australians’ wind, solar and storage in their energy, the council said Labor’s win was a “resounding endorsement” for renewable power.
It also said that nuclear energy was now “politically toxic” among women and undecided voters. ALP’s two-party preferred support increased in seats with offshore wind debates. By the next election, the nation’s main grid will be powered by more than two-thirds renewables and storage.
1. climate change was now a fixture of Australian politics
- climate concerns remained persistently high despite the cost of living crisis
- three quarters of Millennials and Gen Z voters – now the largest group of Australian voters – named climate change as a top issue for the election
- ALP voters indicated that climate change was a top 2 issue in this election
- most pro-climate independents have seen a 3.8 per cent increase in primary votes
2. the Federal Coalition will remain unelectable until climate and energy policy advances
- ALP was seen as 17 per cent more likely to address climate change than the coalition
- the coalition’s inner city heartland has been decimated by pro-climate independents, who mostly retained their seats
- new community independent challengers are performing strongly in 10 traditionally safe coalition seats, meaning these seats are the next wave at risk in 2028
- ALP has been given its strongest mandate since WWII and can use this to roll out renewables and storage, better regulate polluters and stronger climate targets
Five climate opportunities for the next parliament
Anna Skarbek, Climateworks’ chief executive, and Anna Malos, the country lead for Australia, said:
“Expect a national new emission target for 2035, currently it is net zero by 2050 and 43 per cent by 2015 based on 2005 numbers.”
They expect Adelaide to continue its bid to host COP31.
They flagged the importance of plans for 82 per cent renewable by 2030, with the grid this year expected to reach around 50 per cent renewable energy, and there was an opportunity for a positive outcome with review of the national electricity market due this year, the Australian Energy Market Operator’s next integrated system plan and expanding the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s activities in home batteries and energy efficiency.
Meanwhile, in property
Real estate agent Knight Frank’s chief economist Ben Burston said that while the election outcome didn’t “materially change the outlook for commercial property”, the prospect of interest rate cuts and tariff negotiations will be meaningful.
Burston said that the election provided “clarity over the direction of housing policy” and will support “the fast-growing living sectors.”
He said that for build-to-rent, it means that the recently passed managed investment trust (MIT) reforms will remain in place, which will reassure major offshore investors that the government supports their ongoing investment in the sector.
In student housing, both sides proposed reducing the number of international students, but the government foreshadowed a smaller reduction.
The path we must take
Alan Pears, RMIT’s senior industry fellow, environmental consultant and a regular The Fifth Estate contributor, said Labor has been timid on energy and climate.
“Labor complies with our international obligations but ignores climate science. That’s why the Greens’ criticism of Labor as using the ‘drug dealer’ defence are correct but strongly rejected.
“My experience shows that many of the actions we need to take are socially and economically beneficial. But our bizarre ways of estimating costs and benefits ignore the broader reality.
“We face increasing pressures of migration, internally from those facing impacts, to Pacific neighbours whose homes are flooded and who face high recovery and transition costs, and globally through relocation of millions of people, farming and other climate-dependent activities.”