Canberra: Australia has boosted its climate ambition, pledging emissions cut by at least 62 percent from 2005 levels within the next decade.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled the updated target, calling it ‘a responsible target supported by science and a practical plan to get there, built on proven technology.’ The move builds on the government’s previous pledge of a 43 percent reduction by 2030.
The announcement follows a landmark government-commissioned climate risk assessment, which warned Australia is already facing dangerous climate impacts, including record-breaking floods, devastating bushfires, and mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef. The report found that the country has already exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming and faces cascading, compounding and concurrent climate risks unless stronger action is taken.
We’re taking action on climate change. pic.twitter.com/RsBLopzWC5
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 18, 2025
The Climate Change Authority had recommended a reduction of between 62 percent and 70 percent by 2035, aligning Australia more closely with its Paris Climate Agreement obligations. The prime minister will confirm the new commitment at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Despite the move, Australia’s climate policies remain politically divisive. Opposition leader Sussan Ley said the Liberal National coalition was dead against the target, dismissing it on grounds of cost and credibility. Meanwhile, Greens and independents are pushing for faster cuts, while critics accuse the government of undermining progress by continuing to approve fossil fuel projects.
Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project was approved to operate until 2070, a decision environmental advocates condemned as a betrayal of Labour’s climate promises. Australia has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but the path remains fraught with political and economic debate, as the country balances its fossil fuel reliance with ambitions to become a renewable energy superpower.
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