According to this report, Australia’s flagship climate policy, the Safeguard Mechanism, is failing miserably. The report proposes that the Safeguard Mechanism is failing to drive real emissions reductions across Australian industry because it enables polluters to rely on unlimited amounts of so-called 'offsets'.

Ahead of the Australian Government’s review of the scheme, this report explains why the permission to substitute real emissions abatement with offsets undermines the integrity of Australia’s flagship climate policy, and how it benefits the fossil fuel companies that are the biggest emitters covered by the scheme.

The report exposes the lack of integrity in offsets as well as the accounting tricks which have enabled the government to keep approving new fossil fuel projects while falsely claiming its policies are reducing real emissions.

Key points

• The Safeguard Mechanism has failed to deliver promised reductions in gross emissions.
• The scheme has enabled polluters to claim “net reductions” in emissions while actual pollution levels are rising.
• Proposals to open the Safeguard Mechanism to international offsets would further reduce the scheme's integrity.
• By enabling coal and gas expansion, the policy could put Australia in breach of international law.
• Allowing big polluters to use unlimited offsets makes Australia an outlier in international climate policy, alongside countries like Kazakhstan.