Australia’s Climate Change Department Cannot Prove How Effective It Is at Reducing Emissions: Audit

Climate change protestors are seen marching in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 6, 2021. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

A new audit has revealed that Australia’s Climate Change Department’s own reporting methods are not helping the country reduce its carbon emissions.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has released a report (pdf) assessing the effectiveness of the Department’s governance arrangements designed to support the federal Labor government’s plan to combat climate change.

The audit followed two pieces of legislation passed by the federal parliament in September 2022 that outlined the national goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The Department has been tasked with managing and coordinating actions, policies, and strategies that facilitate the government’s climate change plan and is required to report the progress to the Parliament annually.

However, the ANAO report found that the Department had not delivered the strategies and plans needed to help the government achieve its emissions reduction targets.

Specifically, the report said while the governance arrangements introduced by the Department were “partly effective” in assisting the government in carrying out its climate change commitments, it failed to deliver some components, including national plans, strategies, and frameworks.

“(The department) reports annually on progress towards targets, however, it is unable to demonstrate the extent to which specific Australian government policies and programs have contributed or are expected to contribute to overall emissions reduction,” the report said.

At the same time, the ANAO stated that the Department had not established oversight arrangements and risk management strategies for the government’s climate change commitments.

The ‘Powering Australia’ Program Also Struggling

The audit report also examined how effective the Department was in managing the government’s Powering Australia program.

The ambitious plan was touted by the Labor government as a way to bring “cheaper renewable energy” to Australian households and businesses by investing billions of dollars to speed up the transition to renewable energy and decarbonise industry and transport sectors.

Labor also promised that the program would create hundreds of thousands of jobs while reducing pressure on energy bills for Australians.

In the October 2022 federal budget, the government allocated $2 billion (US$1.32 billion) to implement many measures under the program.

Despite significant government investment, the report found that the Department did not establish any effective strategy to manage the program.

“There is no consolidated policy and program-level reporting on progress, valuation, and decision-making across the Powering Australia program of work,” it said.

“Cross-entity coordination arrangements and activities provide information on measures within the Powering Australia program of work. However, (the Department) cannot demonstrate that arrangements are fulfilling their intended role.”

The ANAO also noted that the Department had not finalised arrangements for managing stakeholder coordination and communication for the Powering Australia program.

It then made five recommendations to help the Department measure the achievements of the government’s climate change commitments.

Meanwhile, the Department agreed with all five recommendations, saying it had already carried out work to implement the reforms.