REPORT
Australian companies’ net zero pledges lagging behind global best practice and largely lack scientific rigour.
We assessed 10 prominent Australian companies climate action plans. Here’s what we found:
AGL
•
BlueScope
•
Cleanaway
•
Coles
•
Origin
•
Qantas
•
Rio Tinto
•
South 32
•
Telstra
•
Woolworths
•
AGL • BlueScope • Cleanaway • Coles • Origin • Qantas • Rio Tinto • South 32 • Telstra • Woolworths •
KEY FINDINGS
Australian corporate net zero pledges are failing to meet international standards.
A comprehensive study of the net zero pledges of ten prominent Australian companies has shown that they are lagging behind global best practice and largely lack scientific rigour.
Despite public net zero commitments, none of the companies studied has a comprehensive, independently verified and fully costed plan for reducing their emissions in line with a scientific pathway.
Less than half of the companies 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 shows that the benchmark for Australian corporations taking climate action is too low and well behind international standards and what the science demands.
Urgent action is required if Australia is going to contribute fairly to the global push to reduce emissions in line with the science of 1.5 degrees.
“
In 2024 ambition, accountability and regulation need to be rapidly accelerating and governments must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing.
Catherine McKenna Chair, UN High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities
RECOMMENDATIONS
For Australia to meaningfully contribute to science-aligned climate action, then all government reforms, policies and business guidance must be raising the bar on what business is required to do to ensure real progress towards global emission reduction goals.
Immediate Government action is needed including:
1
Science aligned, mandatory transition plans for business
Business transition plans are an essential tool to drive business climate action, and for disclosing and monitoring progress at the company level. The ensure high-integrity transition planning, the Government should:
Set the standard for business transition planning that aligns with the science of 1.5 degrees.
Introduce mandatory transition plans through the Council of Financial Regulators.
2
Consistent rules for companies' pledges and transition plans to reach net zero
To enhance consistency and usability of net zero pledges and transition plans, standards should be developed that:
address short-term, interim and long-term targets
address scope and coverage of targets
address phasing out use of and support for fossil fuels
address problematic use of offsets
require disclosure of presence or absence of material land-use emissions
align with the UN HLEG criteria where possible, with Australian requirements tailored for consistency with relevant sectoral decarbonisation pathways
3
Clear and transparent disclosure requirements
To improve transparency, credibility and accountability of business climate action, the government should develop regulatory guidance, that at a minimum establishes:
Clear, consistent and comparable format for reporting basic data including emissions data, emissions reductions in relation to baseline and target, as well as progress against plans.
Clear, consistent and comparable format for disclosure of planned, quantified emissions reductions to achieve targets and the allocation of capital to achieve targets.
Uniform standards for independent verification of targets, plans and reported progress.
4
Enforceable standards for just transition planning
Government and regulators should work with stakeholders to develop standards for disclosure of just transition planning and integration of nature risk and dependency in transition plans.
5
Strong Regulators
To further support transition planning, increased funding and support for regulators is needed to hold businesses to account. Government must ensure that:
The financial and corporate system is equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to prepare and interpret transition plans.
Relevant government regulators are equipped to review transition plans and enforce standards.