As Australia transitions beyond Climate Active, this moment presents an opportunity not to step back from climate action, but to rethink what corporate climate leadership looks like. While Climate Active may have concluded, the role of Australian businesses in supporting global climate action has not. Rather than asking whether companies should continue purchasing international carbon credits, we should be asking how Australian businesses can continue mobilising corporate climate finance to deliver genuine environmental and social outcomes, both at home and abroad.

CCES welcome the Australian government’s commitments and actions in reforming the Safeguarding Mechanism, which will not only assist the country in meeting its enhanced NDC target under the Paris Agreement but also pave the way for climate diplomacy and action in the region through the implementation of IPCOS and other future bilateral/multilateral international carbon projects under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

We understand that the government is considering international offsets in the Safeguard Mechanism only if the units are of high integrity and the mitigation outcome can be formally transferred to count towards Australia’s Paris Agreement commitments; however, international offsets are not proposed to be part of the initial enhanced Safeguard Mechanism. We encourage the provision of using high-integrity international carbon offsets created under Article 6.2 in the enhanced Safeguard Mechanism.

Development towards a better society and a better future has always been an utmost priority for Australia. In other words, progress is the soul of Australia, which has enabled the country to navigate its journey from “Australia” to “Advanced Australia”. Unfortunately, in the climate front, the country hasn’t been able to progress further and deliver its citizens a firm climate policy yet. The best time to implement and embrace a progressive climate policy for Australia was ten years ago and the second best time is now.

It’s time to have a serious conversation on how to save “humanity” from the negative impacts of climate change rather than sticking with the old rhetoric – “save the planet”. As human beings, when we are inspired we do things that we wouldn’t otherwise do. The world needs inspiration to act together; aiming to save humanity by fighting climate change can be the necessary motivation for all in today’s gradually warming world.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are targets that needs to be met by 2030, meaning, the governments around the world have approximately 12 years to take necessary action to achieve this goal. Reliable, clean and affordable energy has the most important role to play in achieving SDGs as energy is essential to sustainable development.This paper explores the role of waste to renewable energy projects in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

European Union, Australia, China and South Korea are the vital global actors in any movement that will stabilize the global climate at conditions suited to sustainable development for environmental protection and quality of life around the world. Better understanding of their climate regime pre- Paris and post Paris era is of greater importance both in theory and in practice. This comprehensive research paper analyses each of these countries’ key climate change policies and legislations, their INDC key issues, future plans with set of recommendations.

Australia and Korea have policies in place to curb greenhouse gas emissions in their respective countries. The Australian government through its “Direction Action Plan” aims to reduce emissions through investment in new and more efficient technologies, whereas, the Korean government has had in place a national cap-and-trade ETS since 1 January 2015. The existing trading relationships between Australia and Korea can be considered as an important factor when considering carbon market linkages between these two Asia-Pacific countries, as it will not only aid to proliferate climate change mitigation activities in the region but will also assist in addressing leakage concerns (if any) between these two major trading partners. This paper discusses carbon market linkage issues by exploring the opportunities and challenges of market linkage between two-major Asia-Pacific trading partners – Australia and Korea.