The Copernicus annual global climate summary showed 2025 was the third hottest year on record, and that the past 11 years have been the 11 hottest years ever documented.

For the first time, Earth’s average temperature over three consecutive years (2023-2025) rose above 1.5°C of global warming – a threshold scientists warn dramatically increases the risk of extreme weather and human harm. 

Climate Councillor and leading scientist, Professor Lesley Hughes, said: “This latest climate data reveals what Australians are already experiencing: pollution from coal, oil and gas is heating our atmosphere and oceans, driving worsening extreme weather. Climate change is driving more explosive fire conditions, just like we’ve seen in Victoria this past week where sadly hundreds of homes were destroyed.

“Just a few weeks into 2026, Australians have also been pummelled by heatwaves in Southern Australia, and floods and a tropical cyclone in Queensland. All signs point to the need to act right now, not tomorrow. Every action to cut climate pollution helps secure a safer future for ourselves and our families.

“Australia is reducing pollution in our energy sector but we need to go harder and faster right across our economy. Our leaders can’t keep talking about this crisis and also rubber stamp new coal and gas approvals.’’

Climate Councillor and leading economist, Nicki Hutley, said: “Climate pollution is driving more dangerous and costly disasters today, and Australians are footing the bill. 

In 2025, the world’s third hottest year, we saw floods in Queensland, NSW, and storm damage from Cyclone Alfred that cost more than $2 billion in insured losses. “Even Australians who avoided flood, storm or fire damage will still pay ever higher insurance premiums.

“We also know that the cost of climate-fuelled disasters is wide ranging. Our research with PropTrack shows homes in flood zones are collectively worth about $42 billion less due to the risk of floods. We are also paying through lost farm production and higher food prices, lost productivity in sectors such as construction, and higher health costs.

“As an economist, the cost/benefit equation of climate action is a no-brainer. Letting climate change rip is far more expensive than the investment needed in renewable energy and storage, cleaner transport, and other sectors. We just need to get on with it and fast.”

Copernicus’ key climate records from 2025:

• In 2025, half of the global land area experienced more days than average with strong heat stress (days of 32℃ or above), the leading cause of global weather-related deaths;
• The Antarctic experienced its hottest annual temperature on record and the Arctic its second hottest;
• In February 2025, the combined sea ice cover from both poles fell to its lowest value since at least the start of satellite observations in the late 1970s; 
• January 2025 was globally the hottest January on record.

Locally Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology Data also showed:

• Australia endured its fourth-hottest year in 2025 since national records began in 1910, with large regions experiencing extreme heatwave conditions between January and March, and October to December;
• Australia’s average maximum temperature was 1.48°C above the 1961–1990 average, the equal fourth-hottest on record.; 
• Our nation has experienced nine of its 10 hottest years on record since 2013.

ENDS 

For interviews please contact the Climate Council media team on media@climatecouncil.org.au or call 0485 863 063.

The Climate Council is an independent, community-funded organisation. We provide evidence-based information on climate change impacts and solutions to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, X

The post Bronze Medal Nobody Wants: 2025 Earth’s Third-Hottest Year appeared first on Climate Council.

The report comes after devastating fires claimed the life of a firefighter, and destroyed dozens of homes across New South Wales and Tasmania in December 2025.

The report When Cities Burn: Could the LA Fires happen here? details how climate pollution, from burning coal, oil and gas, is turbo-charging dangerous fire conditions. This is making LA-style urban blazes increasingly likely in parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart. 

The report from Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA) also reveals more people than ever are living in harm’s way, with populations on the outskirts of our cities up 65% on average since 2001.

Former NSW Fire Commissioner and founder of ELCA, Greg Mullins said: “Our analysis shows that Australian cities increasingly face the potential for catastrophic fires like the ones in LA earlier this year. Those fires burned in winter driven by hurricane-strength winds. Climate pollution is now worsening fire weather conditions to the point that fires can sometimes be beyond the limits of modern firefighting and prevention capabilities.”

Mr Mullins said the report should serve as a wake-up call for all Australians living in capital cities: “If you live in suburbia and think bushfires don’t concern you, think again. Nearly every Australian capital city has a dangerous mix of preconditions for a catastrophic fire like LA: the possibility of extreme dry periods; severe winds; steep slopes; bushland near homes; and a history of destructive fires,” he said.

“It’s critical that we deal with the cause of more extreme weather by drastically cutting climate pollution while properly resourcing fire and land management agencies, and preparing suburban communities for rising risks.” 

Former Tasmania Fire Service Chief Fire Officer and ELCA member, Mike Brown said the December fires in Tasmania that have destroyed at least 21 homes should serve as a stark warning: “In otherwise mild conditions, extreme winds grounded firefighting aircraft and created perilous conditions on the ground for firefighters. 

“Climate change is supercharging fire conditions, including extreme winds that can tip a bad fire into a catastrophic one. Studies have shown the winds in Tasmania are increasing, particularly in recent decades with record 200km/h wind gusts recorded in 1998 and 2023.”  

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said the LA fires shocked the world because they shattered assumptions about when and where such fires can strike.

“Climate pollution has made unnatural disasters disturbingly commonplace, but the LA fires – which claimed 31 lives and destroyed 16,000 homes and buildings – still jolted the world. Australia shares many of the same dangerous conditions. If we don’t get climate pollution under control then this report shows many of our cities and communities are in the firing line.

“Every Australian in every city, suburb and town is already paying a price today for worsening fire conditions driven by climate pollution. Surviving and recovering from fires has cost us billions since 2009, and this report shows insurance premiums have jumped 78-138% since 2020 in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth bushfire danger zones.¹ 

“Households shouldn’t keep footing the bill for worsening fires while corporations selling coal, oil and gas drive up climate pollution and rake in profits. We must phase out these polluting fuels and speed up our shift to renewable energy while investing in preparing communities.”

ENDS 

Also available for interview: 

• Former Commissioner, ACT Emergency Services Authority, Maj Gen Peter Dunn (Retd)
• Report author and Director of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action Sean O’Rourke
• Case studies in Queensland, ACT, Melbourne and Sydney who have survived fires or are concerned about fires on their doorsteps.

For interviews please contact Jacqui Street 0498 188 528 or jacqui.street@climatecouncil.org.au 

or the Climate Council media team on media@climatecouncil.org.au or call 0485 863 063.

ABOUT: 

The Climate Council is an independent, community-funded organisation. We provide evidence-based information on climate change impacts and solutions to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, X

Emergency Leaders for Climate Action: We are 38  former senior Australian fire and emergency service leaders who have observed how climate change is driving increasingly catastrophic extreme weather events that are putting lives, properties and livelihoods at greater risk and overwhelming our emergency services.

 ¹The full social and economic cost of Australian bushfires is yet to be comprehensively tallied. The 2009 Black Saturday fires were estimated at $7 billion and Black Summer cost Australia’s economy $10 billion.

The post Experts Sound Alarm for Australia on Urban Fire Risk like LA appeared first on Climate Council.

This prompted an immediate, and unsettling question for many Australians: could something like this happen here?

Our new analysis brings together the latest science, climate trends and fire behaviour research to provide the answer.

The uncomfortable truth is that many of the factors that led to the LA disaster are already present in Australia — and getting worse. Climate pollution from burning coal, oil and gas is supercharging heat, drying out landscapes, lengthening fire seasons and fuelling more extreme fire weather across fire-prone regions.

Australians have already experienced fires with the same hallmarks of the LA fires: drought- parched forests, strong winds, low humidity, explosive fire behaviour, and unstoppable fire fronts that fire agencies, no matter how well-resourced, struggle to respond to. 

In 2003, it happened in Canberra. In 2009, Black Saturday hit Victoria. Tasmania and the NSW Blue Mountains were ablaze in 2013. Then, the national megafires of 2019-20: the Black Summer bushfires; the most destructive and widespread in Australia on record.

What Australia has not yet experienced — but is increasingly at risk of — is what Los Angeles endured: a major fire hitting a major city. 

Our latest analysis explains that millions more Australians now live on the expanding outskirts of our capital cities and major regional centres, where homes adjoin highly flammable bush and grasslands. 

These at-risk communities — from the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, Perth Hills, Adelaide Hills, the Blue Mountains, Sydney suburbs, NSW Central Coast, Hobart’s suburbs and Canberra’s western edge — are already some of the most fire-exposed urban areas in the world. 

In this report, we outline how climate change played an instrumental role in supercharging the main factors that underpinned the Californian catastrophe, and compare those conditions across Australia’s capital cities. We also explain why firefighters are increasingly facing fires they cannot stop; and what must be done to protect Australian lives, homes and communities as extreme fire weather intensifies.

We still have a choice on just how dangerous future fire conditions become. Now is the time to reduce climate pollution further and faster, to adapt our cities, and prepare our fire services and communities for a future increasingly at risk of devastating bushfires.

Key findings

1. The shocking 2025 wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles neighbourhoods in the middle of winter were supercharged by climate pollution.

• Climate pollution from the burning of coal, oil and gas shaped the dangerous and extreme weather conditions that drove these fires: record dryness; non arrival of the typical annual wet season; and hurricane-like winds gusting up to 160 kmh.
• Climate pollution has all but erased traditional fire seasons and turned them into an all-year-round threat. The January 2025 fires hit in the middle of winter, well outside of the traditional fire season from June to November.
• LA experienced climate whiplash: a rapid switch between two very wet years that resulted in extreme fire fuel loads, followed by very dry conditions ideal for fires.
• Around the world, climate pollution is driving worsening fire conditions: 43% of the 200 most damaging fires have occurred in just the past decade.

2. Many Australian cities share dangerous characteristics that made the LA fires so destructive, and many of our worst bushfires have also exhibited unstoppable fire behaviour.

• Like California, many parts of Australia have a hot and dry climate. Research shows between 2000 and 2023 the intensity and frequency of the worst fires in southern Australia and western North America rose sharply under more extreme weather conditions.
• Australia has suffered through fires with the same characteristics as LA: extremely strong winds, drought conditions, high fuel loads and unstoppable fire behaviour. During Black Saturday 2009 in Victoria, the fire danger index exceeded 200 (with 100 the upper limit of recognised fire danger rating up until 2009).
• Fire-generated thunderstorms, or pyroconvective events, were relatively rare with 60 such events recorded in Australia in the 40 years up to 2018. During Black Summer, there were at least 45 fire- generated thunderstorms.
• Our analysis shows that the outskirts of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart share characteristics that made the LA fires so destructive.

3. Just like in LA, more people than ever are living in harm’s way on the fast-growing urban fringes of Australian cities.

• In LA, hurricane-like Santa Ana winds (up to 160 km/h) created a firestorm that fed on tinder dry brush, then houses. From 1990-2020, 45% of all new homes in California were built where suburbs meet flammable terrain.
• Over the past 20 years, outer suburban populations have exploded in Australia, too: More than doubling in Melbourne and Perth, up 36% in Adelaide, 33% in Hobart and 24% in Sydney.
• More than 6.9 million Australians now live where suburbs meet the bush — the zones most exposed to deadly fires. Had the Black Summer bushfires directly impacted the edges of our cities or major regional centres – such as Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, the Dandenong ranges, the Adelaide Hills, the Perth Hills or Hobart – then property losses on the scale of LA could have occurred.
• Many of the LA homes that burnt were built before fire resilient building standards were introduced there in 2008. Up to 90% of Australian homes in high-risk fire zones were also built before modern bushfire standards existed — making ignition due to ember attack and house-to-house fire spread far more likely.
• Research shows that, globally, 10% of all fires result in 78% of all fatalities. Most of these occur in suburbs built where bush or grassland meets cities.

4. Climate pollution is turbo-charging Australian fire conditions, and it’s making fires more frequent, costly, intense – and less predictable.

• Since 2020 insurance premiums have increased by 78% to 138% for homes in bushfire-prone Local Government Areas within Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
• The cost of the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires to our economy was estimated at $10 billion. It is a matter of when – not if – we’ll experience another fire on this scale, or worse, as dangerous fire weather conditions driven by climate pollution make this a near certainty.
• From 1979 to 2019 fire seasons across Australia grew by an additional 27 days – a 20% increase over the 40-year period.
• Southern Australia is experiencing long-term declines in cool-season rainfall at the same time as spring and summer become hotter and drier: setting the stage for earlier, more intense and widespread fires like the 2003 Canberra fires and 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
• Fire behaviour at night is becoming more extreme and robbing firefighters of a tool they’ve used for centuries: attacking fires and backburning during milder night conditions to bring large fires under control.
• The world’s first large-scale fire-generated tornado – and the fastest rate of spread for a forest fire –  was recorded in Canberra, in January 2003.

5. Climate-fuelled fires are increasingly exceeding the limits of modern firefighting. Investment in community preparation and urgent cuts to climate pollution are both critical to saving Australian lives and communities.

• There is no way to safely or effectively fight pyroconvective events, like those experienced in Canberra 2003, Black Saturday 2009, and the Black Summer bushfires. Aircraft must be grounded, and efforts to protect properties temporarily abandoned.
• Modelling shows that 3°C of global warming would result in catastrophic fire danger zones three times bigger than experienced on Black Saturday in 2009 (810,000 km2) with temperatures as high as 48°C in Victoria, NSW, and South Australia.
• Fires on this scale are considered beyond the limits of any fire service to control. Los Angeles is one of the best-resourced firefighting jurisdictions in the world, but was still overwhelmed: extreme winds grounded aircraft, simultaneous fires limited assistance, and there was sudden loss of water pressure.
• Australia is facing more days of extreme fire weather and larger, more damaging fires under worsening fire weather caused by climate pollution. We must:
  • Cut climate pollution from coal, oil and gas more swiftly and deeply if we’re to avoid even worse.
  • Invest heavily in disaster preparation and community resilience at all levels of government so we’re as prepared as possible  for the worsening fire risks we already face.
  •  As a priority, increase emergency service and land management capacity at the urban fringe of our cities and major regional centres so growing populations are better protected for what’s to come.

The post When Cities Burn: Could the Los Angeles fires happen here? appeared first on Climate Council.

Australia’s move to clean energy is well underway, with records continually being knocked off. Throughout October, renewables supplied 51% of electricity in the National Electricity Market, reaching a peak share of 79% on 11 October.

AEMO’s roadmap makes it clear that accelerating the transition is the only viable path forward. We’re heading in the right direction, but the pace must increase.

Turbo-charging the roll-out of renewable generation, transmission and storage will not only secure a reliable electricity system for decades to come—it will also help keep power prices down as ageing coal plants retire and gas generation declines.

Climate Councillor and energy expert, Joel Gilmore, said: “We’ve got less time to waste than a Christmas shopper. Getting more clean energy to more households and businesses is the only way to cut climate pollution and protect ourselves against price volatility in the years ahead.

“AEMO’s roadmap shows that electricity consumption is expected to nearly double by 2050, particularly as industry shifts from gas to electricity and more data centres are built, so we can’t afford to be delayed or distracted in our roll-out of renewable energy.  In the most comprehensive study of our grid the evidence is clear: any delays to the transition will mean higher costs for consumers.

“The coal clunkers will have all but fallen apart or shut down in 10 years’ time; throwing money at coal-fired plants would be like investing in fax-machine companies. We need to focus on proven renewable technologies, and get on with the job of building out a cleaner, more reliable energy grid.”

Climate Council Senior Advisor, Ben McLeod, said: “The facts don’t lie. AEMO’s analysis shows that in the past four years, the capital cost of new grid-scale solar in Australia fell by almost 20%, and is expected to drop by at least another 25% by 2030. 

“Compare that to the capital cost of new coal-fired power stations with carbon capture and storage; it has risen by more than 50% over the past eight years.

“This is part of a global trend where investors are favouring renewable energy and supporting technologies over fossil fuels. It also shows the opportunities for Australia for new green export industries.

“We should trust the facts and double down on what’s working. Clinging to the past will only mean higher costs and more climate pollution.”

A Climate Council explainer about why power bill costs are up can be found HERE

ENDS 

For interviews please contact Warwick Green at the Climate Council Media Team: warwick.green@climatecouncil.org.au / 0439 647 144 

Or media@climatecouncil.org.au or call 0485 863 063

The Climate Council is an independent, community-funded organisation. We provide evidence-based information on climate change impacts and solutions to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, X

The post Let’s rock’n’roll on renewable transition: grid operator appeared first on Climate Council.

The Australian Energy Market Commission’s latest modelling report that looks at prices in the National Electricity Market (NEM), shows:

• Power prices are projected to fall by 5% over the next five years, thanks to the building of renewables, storage and transmission.
• A one-year delay in wind or transmission projects could increase prices by up to 20%.
• Gas is an expensive power source that has pushed power prices up. Gas is projected to cause price increases after 2030, unless more renewables are built to replace ageing and unreliable coal power stations as they retire. 
• A faster rollout of renewable energy and storage can cut our reliance on gas, and reduce prices. 
• Households in every NEM state and territory will enjoy lower energy costs on average by 2035, thanks to rooftop solar, batteries and electrification of homes and vehicles. A household with solar and a battery that fully electrifies could reduce total energy costs – including power, fuel and gas – by more than 90%.

Climate Councillor and energy sector expert, Associate Professor Joel Gilmore, said: “This report makes it crystal clear: renewables are the only thing pushing power bills down — and the only path to lower power bills ahead. Every wind farm, solar project and battery we build pushes prices down.

“The modelling shows that power prices will fall by 5% over the next five years, because more renewables, storage and transmission are coming online. But if governments don’t get their skates on, by 2030 a greater reliance on gas will drive prices back up. Just a one year delay could add up to 20% to power prices.

“If we want cheaper power, the answer isn’t mysterious: we simply need to replace ageing unreliable coal with renewables and firm them with batteries. Our own sun and wind is the lowest cost option we have.”

Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, said: 

“Four million Aussies have put solar panels on their roofs to reduce bills and pollution. We need more solar, wind and storage to build the energy system of the future. The faster we replace expensive coal and gas the better off we will be.

“Australian households are doing it tough, with unreliable coal and expensive gas pushing up power prices in recent years. They are setting high prices while renewables are delivering by far the cheapest wholesale power in the grid.

“Trying to blame renewables for a mess caused by fossil fuels is as absurd as blaming umbrellas for rain. Renewables backed up by storage are the only thing protecting families from even higher bills, and now this report shows they will cut power prices in coming years too.’’

• Attached is a PDF with Climate Council analysis sorting power bill fact from fiction
• A Climate Council explainer about why power bill costs are up can be found HERE

ENDS

For interviews please contact: media@climatecouncil.org.au or call 0485 863 063

The Climate Council is an independent, community-funded organisation. We provide evidence-based information on climate change impacts and solutions to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, X

The post Renewables cutting power prices, but gas could undo gains appeared first on Climate Council.

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said: “This deal strengthens protections for our native forests, and provides a faster yes to responsible renewable energy projects that cut climate pollution. That will help protect communities from rising power prices and climate damage.

“But this 2025 law fails the climate test. All new coal and gas projects still get a free pass on climate pollution. In fact, the law prohibits the Environment Minister from considering a project’s climate pollution when assessing whether it should go ahead. That is a gaping hole in a law that should protect nature from the ravages of climate change.

“Let’s be clear: the ALP has a growing fossil fuel problem. While voters expect the Government to deal with pollution from coal and gas, the Government is turning a blind eye to billions of tonnes of pollution that more fossil fuel approvals will add to this problem. This is a political liability that isn’t going away – and many voters are planning to mark them down over it.”

New national polling from YouGov, conducted for the Climate Council, shows seven in 10 voters wanted the Government to address climate change in the new environment law, and 44 percent of 2025 Labor voters said they would be less likely to vote for the Government again if climate change was left out of this law.

Climate Councillor Professor Tim Flannery said: “The Greens and Labor have been able to secure real wins, including better protection for native forests and a clearer path for renewable energy. That shows Parliament can work across the aisle to find solutions for the community, rather than get bogged down in politicking.

“The Greens have blocked fast tracking of coal and gas which would have been a disastrous outcome – equivalent to pouring petrol on a fire.”

“But the job’s far from done. In the assessment pipeline sit 42 coal and gas projects that could release 8.7 million more tonnes of pollution yearly in Australia, undermining our climate targets, and progress.

“Until we better regulate fossil fuel projects, one fifth of Australia’s climate pollution, a safer future for us and our kids will fall further out of reach.”

Analysis: What our new Environment Laws mean for climate

Key inclusions		Labor’s initial bill	Greens/Labor negotiated outcome
Accelerate critical projects like responsible renewables, not polluting ones		Measures to streamline project approvals	Measures to streamline project approvals
		Could also speed up fossil fuel approvals.	Fossil fuel projects blocked from fast-track.
		Allows the coal and gas “water trigger” to be delegated to states.	No changes to the water trigger.
Measure and manage climate pollution in approvals		Direct emissions (scope 1 & 2) must be disclosed, but aren’t verified	Direct emissions (scope 1 & 2) must be disclosed, but aren’t verified
		Full emissions (scope 3) not disclosed.	Full emissions (scope 3) not disclosed.
		Climate pollution never considered in decisions, so coal and gas projects can be approved unchecked.	Climate pollution never considered in decisions, so coal and gas projects can be approved unchecked.
End land clearing and native forest logging loopholes to protect important carbon sinks		Native logging allowed without assessment.	Closes native forest logging loopholes within 18 months.
		Loopholes allow continuing land clearing without assessment.	Exemptions for high-risk land clearing will end.

ENDS 

For interviews please contact the Climate Council media team on media@climatecouncil.org.au or call 0485 863 063.

The Climate Council is an independent, community-funded organisation. We provide evidence-based information on climate change impacts and solutions to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, X

The post Nature protected in law, but climate liability for ALP remains appeared first on Climate Council.

Australians expect the national environment law to protect people and nature from climate harm, not wave through more climate pollution, new YouGov research shows. 

The research shows:

• 68% of voters think the law should protect our environment from the impacts of climate change
• 70% want climate impacts considered when assessing fossil fuel projects
• Four in five Labor voters (78%) say it would be the wrong decision for the Prime Minister to exclude climate change in the environment laws, and
• Almost half of Labor voters say they will be less likely to vote for Labor if the laws don’t address climate change.

This polling lands at a pivotal moment with Australia set to take on the COP31 presidency and the Government looking to prove its climate credentials to both Australians and the international community.

YouGov Director, Public Affairs and Public Data, Paul Smith said: “The data shows that if the government delivers environment laws that ignore climate change, it risks being punished by up to 44% of its 2025 voters at the ballot box.”

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said: “Australians can see climate damage all around them, from bleached reefs to deadly heat and fires. They expect our environment laws to seriously consider climate pollution from new coal, oil and gas projects, and to curb projects that make the crisis worse. Anything less is a green light for more damage.”

Lock the Gate National Coordinator Carmel Flint said: “Australians want the Federal Government to keep oversight of big environmental decisions that affect us all. Our national environment law should prevent coal and gas mines from harming precious water resources like our rivers, springs and aquifers rather than leaving such decisions solely to state governments.” 

The polling comes as the Senate holds hearings into the proposed environment law reforms. Climate Councillor Tim Flannery, Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie are appearing on Friday 21st November, and available for comment. Lock the Gate Head of Research and Investigations George Woods appeared at the hearings on Thursday 20th. 

Polling methodology: 

• Source: Voter attitudes and expectations about national environment laws — YouGov Polling & Public Affairs, prepared for the Climate Council, the Sunrise Project and Lock The Gate, dated 20 Nov 2025.
• Sample: National sample n=3,783 voters, surveyed between 12 – 17 Nov 2025.
  

ENDS 

For interviews please contact the Climate Council media team on media@climatecouncil.org.au or call 0485 863 063.

The Climate Council is an independent, community-funded organisation. We provide evidence-based information on climate change impacts and solutions to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

For further information, go to: climatecouncil.org.au

Or follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, X

The post New polling: Any climate deal with the Coalition risks bleeding Labor’s base appeared first on Climate Council.

The polling shows a clear political impact if the Albanese Government fails to address climate change in its environment law reforms: four in five Labor voters think it would be the wrong decision, and almost half of Labor voters say they would be less likely to vote for Labor.

Here are the key findings at a glance:

• 68% agree Australia’s national environment law should protect our environment from the impacts of climate change (10% disagree). 
• 70% agree the law should consider the impacts of climate change when assessing fossil fuel projects (12% disagree). 
• 61% agree the federal government should retain the power to prevent coal and gas mines harming water resources (12% disagree).
• 65% of voters think it would be the wrong decision for the Prime Minister to not include climate change in our national environment law.
• 44% of Labor voters say they’d be less likely to vote Labor if the Government does not address climate change in the new law.

Download the full results

Now let’s dig a little deeper.

Australians want our environment laws to consider climate change

See what voters in your electorate want:

Australians back strong climate safeguards in our environment law

Australians expect the national environment law to protect people and nature from climate harm, not wave through more climate pollution. Nearly seven in ten (68%) agree Australia’s national environment law should protect our environment from the impacts of climate change, with only one in ten (10%) disagreeing.

Considering climate when assessing fossil fuel projects

Australians want decisions about new fossil fuel projects to account for climate impacts. Seven in ten (70%) agree the law should consider the impacts of climate change when assessing fossil fuel projects; 12% disagree.

Political signal to decision‑makers

The research indicates clear electoral consequences if climate is left out of the environment law reforms: 41% of voters say they would be less likely to vote Labor if the Government doesn’t address climate change in the new national environment law.

Among people who voted Labor at the 2025 federal election, 44% are “at risk on climate” – they report being less likely to support Labor if climate is not addressed in the law.

What this means

• Australians want climate built into our new environment law. The public expects the law to both protect from climate impacts and consider climate when assessing fossil fuel projects.
  
• There’s a consequence for ignoring climate. Almost half of Labor’s 2025 voters (44%) say they’re less likely to vote Labor if climate is left out of the reforms.
  
• Support spans the political spectrum. Agreement is strong across voter groups, and is overwhelmingly strong among climate‑motivated Labor voters.

The good news

There’s still time for the Government to deliver on the public’s expectations and strengthen its environment law reforms to address climate change. Learn more about how they can do that here.

Methodology & credits

• Commissioned by: Climate Council, the Sunrise Project and Lock The Gate
• Provider: YouGov Polling & Public Affairs Team
• Fieldwork & sample: National sample n=3,783 adult voters, representative of the voting population by age, gender, region, income, education, 2023 Voice and 2025 Federal Election vote.
• Segments used in reporting: 2025 Labor voters (n=1,400); climate‑motivated Labor voters (n=615); non‑Labor voters (n=2,383)

The post New polling a clear warning for Government to address climate in environment laws appeared first on Climate Council.

The Albanese Government has an opportunity to fix this through its environment law reforms, currently being considered by Parliament. However, the Government’s proposed reforms fail to meaningfully protect our environment from the ravages of climate pollution. This means that the 42 coal and gas projects already lined up for approval under our environment law could go ahead with no consideration of their climate impacts. 

These projects would add to the 32 new or expanded coal, oil and gas developments already approved by the Albanese Government since 2022. In total, these projects have disclosed expected annual emissions of nearly 13 million tonnes, equivalent to an extra 6 million cars on Australian roads every year.

Learn more about the fossil fuel projects the Albanese Government has already approved.

More polluting projects in the pipeline

There are at least 42 coal and gas projects currently in the pipeline for environmental assessment, with most of these actively seeking approval, and more than half of these applications made since 2023. Most are seeking approval to operate for decades, with about a third seeking to operate even beyond Australia’s 2050 net zero target. 

Unleashing millions of tonnes of climate pollution 

Estimated emissions are available for just 23 of the 42 projects in the queue for approval. These projects alone would emit an average of 8.7 million tonnes of pollution every year in the 2030’s. This is nearly equal to the pollution from all of Australia’s domestic flights every year (more than 600,000).

These estimates do not take into account downstream emissions which are released when the coal and gas from these projects is burnt – largely overseas. For every tonne of climate pollution released in Australia, the coal and gas industry ‘exported’ 12.8 tonnes of climate pollution in 2023*. Whether pollution is released in Australia or overseas, our environment suffers the same consequences.

*Climate Council analysis based on Climate Analytics 2024 and DCCEEW 2025.

Mega-polluting projects up for approval

The list of projects waiting for approval includes highly-polluting projects like:

• Browse gas project, on Scott Reef in WA, which would run for up to 44 years – to 2070. Browse would produce an average of 4 million tonnes of climate pollution in Australia every year, and up to 6.8 million tonnes at its peak – more than the annual climate pollution of Gladstone, Queensland’s oldest and largest coal-fired power station.
• Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Coal Continuation Project, NSW, which would extend the life of one of Australia’s largest coal mines for up to 19 years, directly releasing more than 1.2 million tonnes of climate pollution every year in Australia. This is equal to more than 500,000 extra cars on the road in Australia every year.
• Winchester South coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, which is the largest new coal project proposed in Australia. Its environmental impact assessment documents reveal it would directly release more than half a million tonnes of climate pollution every year for up to 26 years. This is around 20 times the gross annual emissions of our Pacific neighbour Tuvalu, which is acutely vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change and is leading an international campaign to end the burning of fossil fuels. 

Greenlighting more climate pollution

The Government’s proposed reforms to our national environment law fail to curb climate pollution. Under the proposed reforms, the Environment Minister is not required to consider climate impacts when approving a new project – no matter how polluting or long-running it is. This is a major climate loophole that would enable more polluting projects to go ahead.

The proposed reforms also don’t require the Minister to consider whether a project is aligned with Australia’s climate targets, policies and international commitments.

Learn more about the climate loopholes in the proposed legislation – and how the Government can still fix them

Putting Australia’s climate targets at risk

Australia has just set a target of a 62-70% cut in climate pollution by 2035, compared with 2005 levels. The Government’s own modelling shows that achieving this target is dependent on a large decline in fossil fuel production. However, the Government’s proposed environmental law reforms could directly undermine our ability to reach this target, by enabling more coal and gas projects to go ahead, and millions more tonnes of climate pollution to be released. 

Even a handful of highly polluting projects, like NSW’s HVO coal mine or the Browse gas project could make or break Australia’s 2030 and 2035 targets. 

Climate Council analysis has found that if Australia does not cut its fossil fuel production, we will fall short of our 2035 climate target, if other sectors like transport and agriculture do not pick up the slack. 

The Safeguard Mechanism won’t fix this

The Government claims domestic climate pollution from new or expanded fossil fuel projects is already managed under the Safeguard Mechanism. But the Safeguard Mechanism only kicks in after a project is operating – it doesn’t decide which projects go ahead. Effective policies are needed at both steps: limiting pollution from new and expanding fossil fuel projects, and reducing emissions from existing projects over time, if and when they are approved. 

Australia currently has no mechanism to limit pollution from new projects, meaning even projects that are incompatible with Australia’s climate policies, targets, or international obligations can be waved through. 

No new coal or gas 

With nearly all of Australia’s ageing, unreliable coal-fired power stations expected to close by 2038, Australia does not need new coal supply for our own energy needs. Most of the coal from these new or expanded projects would be exported. 

Gas has a small, shrinking and short-term role to play in Australia’s energy mix, and the vast majority of gas from most recently approved or proposed projects – including North West Shelf and Browse – will be exported. Gas from Australia’s existing projects through to 2035 would be enough to meet our domestic energy needs for more than 64 years, so there’s no reason to drill for more. Expensive, polluting as is a key driver of high power prices in Australia – we need to prioritise reducing our gas use as much as possible, delivering energy bill savings for households and businesses while cutting climate pollution. The expansion of gas extraction in Australia would only add to our climate pollution and increase profits for multinational fossil fuel companies.

Now is your chance to have a say

Right now, the Australian Senate is holding an official inquiry into the Government’s proposed reforms to our national environment law – the Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. This inquiry will review the proposed reforms in detail, hear from the public and experts, and make recommendations to the Government before the laws are finalised.

Making a submission to the Senate inquiry is easy – and it’s the most effective way to have your say right now.

Appendix: The 42 coal and gas projects in the pipeline for environmental approval

Coal projects

Gas projects

The post Will Australia’s environment law reforms deliver more pollution than protection? appeared first on Climate Council.

Climate change, driven by pollution from burning fossil fuels, is already impacting the complex ecosystems we depend on for healthy and prosperous lives, damaging the habitats of important animal, insect and plant species, and threatening iconic natural places like the Great Barrier Reef.  To better protect Australians from climate harm, we must curb new and expanded coal, oil and gas projects. The Government has the opportunity to achieve this through its reforms to the EPBC Act, however, the current proposed reforms fall well short of what is required to address climate change and protect our environment.

The Government’s current proposed reforms would: 

• Create a new climate loophole – requiring the disclosure of direct emissions from projects, while prohibiting this information from being factored into approval decisions.
• Undermine Australia’s climate progress, by continuing to allow fossil fuel projects, including 42 already in the pipeline, to be approved unchecked – even if their domestic emissions put our climate targets at risk.
• Enable polluting projects to be fast-tracked, with no prioritisation of environmentally responsible clean energy projects essential to cutting climate pollution.
• Fail to address existing loopholes, which allow land clearing and native logging to continue without proper federal assessment.

The failure to tackle climate in these reforms lies in stark contrast to the Albanese Labor Government’s efforts to cut climate pollution – including our climate targets, policies, and international commitment to contribute to the global goals of keeping warming well below 2ºC. An effective, modern national environment law can deliver on the Government’s objectives of boosting productivity and enabling vital projects like responsible renewable energy, critical minerals and housing, while protecting the environment from climate harm and other risks. 

The Climate Council has long advocated for comprehensive reforms to the EPBC Act which protect the environment from climate harm. This includes the addition of a “safe and liveable climate” as a Matter of National Environmental Significance, a reform often referred to as a ‘climate trigger’. The Climate Council maintains that this comprehensive reform is the clearest option to genuinely protect the environment from climate harm, and contribute to limiting climate change in line with global goals. 

However, acknowledging that the Albanese Government has ruled out this particular change, there is still a critical opportunity for reform. Even without a climate trigger, there are plenty of ways this bill could be stronger on climate. Currently, neither Australia’s current laws and policies, or these proposed reforms, manage the risk posed by the unchecked expansion of highly-polluting coal, oil and gas projects. As a result, new and expanding projects which undermine our domestic climate targets and key policies like the Safeguard Mechanism can proceed unchecked.

Three sensible improvements can align Australia’s national environment law with our climate policy

• provide for disclosure, assessment and control of climate pollution – to ensure our climate targets and key policies to cut climate pollution (notably the Safeguard Mechanism) are not undermined;
• accelerate the energy and infrastructure we need – not the polluting projects we don’t; and
• close climate-polluting loopholes that allow lands to be cleared and native forests logged.

The Climate Council urges the Government and Parliament to recognise the significant risks and shortcomings in the proposed reforms and take action to strengthen the laws to better protect our environment, and Australian communities, from escalating climate harm.

The post Submission: Senate Inquiry – Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six related bills appeared first on Climate Council.