Climate Change Act – Draft Amendment Bill

Have your say on amendments to the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act 2007.

What's being decided?

We are updating South Australia’s Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act 2007 (the Act) to:

• update emission reduction and renewable electricity targets and,
• strengthen requirements around government planning, risk assessment and action on climate change.

We are seeking your feedback on a draft version of the Bill, which sets out the proposed changes to the Act.

Background

The proposed amendments to the Act will:

• update the state’s emissions reduction for 2030 and 2050
• require five yearly emissions reduction targets to be set between 2030 and 2050
• require a state-wide emissions reduction plan to help achieve South Australia’s emission reduction targets
• include a state-wide climate risk assessment to identify risks and opportunities and to inform adaptation planning
• introduce an ability for the Premier to nominate a public sector entity to prepare a climate change plan for an entity or sector
• provide for public sector action and reporting on reducing emissions and managing climate risk in government actions.

The draft Bill currently proposes to update the renewable electricity target in the Act to 100% net renewable electricity generation by 2030 in line with a previous commitment made by the South Australian Government.

On 27 February 2024, the South Australian Government announced a more ambitious target of achieving 100% net renewable electricity generation by 2027. Although not reflected in the draft Bill, when providing any feedback about updating the electricity generation target in the Act, you are encouraged to consider the new target of 100% net renewable electricity generation by 2027.

You can read more about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the Frequently Asked Questions section.

Get involved

Find out more:

• read the Draft Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2024
• read the Explanatory Guide to the Draft Bill
• register your interest in attending a community information session regarding the Draft Bill or watch a webinar recording
• explore the climate legislation page on the DEW Website.

Have your say by:

• filling in all or part of the Draft Bill Survey
• providing other feedback in the general comments field of the Draft Bill Survey
• emailing a written submission to DEWClimateChange@sa.gov.au
• posting your written submission to Climate Change Act Amendment Engagement, Department for Environment and Water, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5001
• Consultation closes 12pm Friday, 5 April 2024.

Please note: your feedback may be made publicly available unless you indicate on the submission that you wish for it to remain confidential. Any responses that are made on a confidential basis may still be subject to access under Freedom of Information laws.

What are the next steps?

We will consider feedback to inform the Bill that will be introduced to the South Australian Parliament.

We will publish the final draft Bill on YourSAy and DEW's website.