Looking back on 2024
All told, it’s been an enormous first year for Climate Integrity – and we’re only just getting warmed up. While we wish the work we do wasn’t necessary, we’re incredibly grateful to have the runway and support to fight for integrity and accountability in climate commitments.
As we prepare for what’s to come in 2025, we want to thank all of our funders, our expert network and everyone who has supported our vision for more integrity and transparency in corporate Australia’s transition to net zero.
Here are some of the extraordinary things we achieved together this year.
We put Qantas’ greenwashing on the no-fly list
In October, we lodged a formal complaint to the ACCC about Qantas’s potential greenwashing in their marketing materials. The complaint focused on misleading claims like ‘fly carbon neutral’ and the airline’s overreliance on carbon offsetting. Our publicity of the campaign resulted in over 150 individual pieces of coverage, with all major Australian mastheads covering the complaint within the first 24 hours.
Climate Integrity is engaging with Qantas as a result, and we met with senior leadership to discuss the issues raised in the complaint and explore what actions the company is considering. While we wait for the ACCC to consider whether to conduct an investigation, we continue to push for substantive and impactful action that can begin to rebuild public trust in our national carrier. The campaign sent a strong message to Australian corporations that greenwashing simply won’t fly anymore.
We called out the corporates lobbying against climate action
Our Risky Influence report sought to highlight the Australian companies that are obstructing and delaying Australia’s transition to net zero by lobbying against climate policies. Many of these companies have also made public climate declarations, further highlighting the need for independent orgs like us to keep tabs on who’s saying what, and who’s really taking action. The report also examined the legal implications of misaligned lobbying, finding that the biggest risk for companies is through indirect lobbying. We partnered with Race to Zero, InfluenceMap and Climate Action Network Australia to host an event to share the findings and explore how companies can better align their public commitments to lobbying activities.
We assessed the net zero pledges of 10 of Australia’s top companies
In February, we released a comprehensive study on the net zero pledges of ten prominent Australian companies. The report showed the companies are not just lagging behind global best practice, but that their targets also lack scientific rigour. In fact, only half of the companies included are on track to meet their own emissions reduction targets and none have plans to phase out the primary cause of climate change – fossil fuels. The report demonstrated a real lack of integrity and accountability in voluntary net zero commitments in the media and has been the evidence-base for our engagement with companies and policy makers on these issues.
We proposed an Australian-first carbon removals budget
'Net Zero' has become a loophole, but how do we stop it from being exploited? In November, we launched a policy paper alongside Dr. Kate Dooley outlining the need for a sustainable carbon removals budget in Australia. Carbon dioxide removal has a role in the transition to net zero, but carbon removal into land is limited by sustainability constraints that are frequently ignored. Too often, Australia’s biggest emitters rely on unrealistic carbon removal targets to meet their Net Zero pledges. Australia urgently needs to establish a carbon removals budget and framework to manage the sustainable and ethical use of carbon dioxide removals, and this policy paper is helping to embed that narrative
Welcoming Dr. Wesley Morgan to our expert network
Climate Integrity is an expert-led initiative that brings together academics, scientists and subject matter experts to drive integrity and accountability in net zero. In September, we were thrilled to welcome Dr. Wesley Morgan to our expert network. Dr. Morgan is a research associate with the Institute for Climate Risk & Response at UNSW. He has written widely on climate change, and international relations in the Pacific islands. His research considers the ways countries work together at the UN to tackle climate change, and integrate climate change into their foreign policy and national security strategies. Wesley’s research considers the impacts of climate change on Australia and Pacific island countries, and the international context for Australian climate policy. We already know Dr. Morgan’s contribution to our work is going to be substantial, and we’re so lucky to have him with us. Read more about the other experts guiding our work.
We’ll see you for more of the same in 2025.
