On 1 March 2024, recent climate change related amendments made to the Environment Protection Act 1993, will come into effect.
These amendments define and then add the terms ‘climate change adaptation’, ‘climate change mitigation’ and ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ explicitly into the Objects of the Act.
They also require the EPA Board to have practical knowledge and experience in climate change adaptation and mitigation as part of the attributes held across its membership.
These amendments were made to clarify the role of the Act, in particular the EPA’s role in climate change regulation, and also better position the EPA Board to address climate change when administering the Act.
The EPA will commence informal engagement with key stakeholders during 2024, with a view to scoping and developing a draft climate change focused Environment Protection Policy (EPP) during 2025/2026.
The EPP will provide certainty and transparency about how the climate change related Objects of the Act will translate into policy, assessments, licensing and compliance.
