Thursday, 30 October 2025
The federal government's once-in-a-generation overhaul of our national environment law risks entrenching climate destruction, with leading legal and climate experts warning the reforms fail to deal with the single biggest threat to our environment – climate change.
The Government’s draft Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act reforms will reportedly exclude any meaningful consideration of climate pollution or compatibility with Australia’s climate targets. Despite promises of stronger protections, the reforms will not consider the climate impacts of new or expanded coal and gas projects. Polluting projects would not be blocked on climate grounds, even if they breach Australia’s emissions targets or worsen climate harm.
Experts warn that by ignoring the climate impacts of projects, the laws expose Australia to domestic and international legal risk, including under obligations recently clarified by the International Court of Justice’s climate advisory opinion.
At a time when climate-fuelled disasters increasingly wreak havoc on the lives of everyday Australians, the reforms risk entrenching the very industries driving the crisis, and put future generations at risk.
To interview the climate law experts below, please contact Sean Kennedy at the Climate Media Centre - 0447 121 378 - [email protected]
Professor Jacqueline Peel - Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Australian Laureate Fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne
A leading authority on climate law and environmental governance, Professor Peel has advised the United Nations, the OECD and Australian governments on integrating climate considerations into environmental regulation. Her research focuses on international environmental law, climate litigation, and environmental decision-making.
“Australia’s national environment law is being rewritten for the first time in 25 years, yet it fails to address the biggest environmental threat of our time: climate change. By excluding climate impacts from environmental assessments, the Government is writing a law that guarantees more harm to the very ecosystems it claims to protect.
“This is a once-in-a-generation chance to build an environmental framework that’s fit for purpose in a warming world. Instead, the government's reforms leave the door wide open for new coal and gas projects that are fundamentally incompatible with Australia’s climate targets and our international obligations.”
Professor Nicole Rogers - Professor of Climate Law, Bond University
Professor Rogers is an expert in climate law, justice and governance. Her work explores how legal systems can adapt to the realities of the climate crisis and the impact of climate litigation..
“The Government’s reforms are like building a fire station that doesn’t respond to fires. Climate change is already devastating Australia, from the Great Barrier Reef to our bushfire-ravaged forests, yet the Government refuses to even consider the climate consequences of its own decisions in this proposed law.
“If the law can’t stop projects that breach our climate targets, how can it be fit for purpose? Excluding climate from our national environment legislation is a catastrophic blind spot that undermines both environmental protection and Australia’s international credibility.”
Dr Julia Dehm - Associate Professor of Law and ARC DECRA Fellow, La Trobe University
Dr Dehm’s research examines international and domestic climate law and the intersection between human rights and environmental policy. She has published widely on climate accountability, international environmental obligations and the role of law in managing extractive industries.
“The Government’s refusal to include climate considerations in the EPBC reforms could place Australia in breach of its international obligations, particularly in light of the recent ICJ climate opinion. Every tonne of carbon pollution worsens the climate impacts that threaten the rights and wellbeing of future generations – and our environment.
“This is the Government’s defining test – whether it chooses to protect Australians and the places we love, or continue to prioritise polluters. Weak laws now will only shift the burden of climate harm onto young people and those already on the frontlines of this crisis.”
Elaine Johnson - Director, Johnson Legal
Elaine Johnson is one of Australia’s leading environmental lawyers, with nearly 20 years’ experience in climate and environment litigation. She has acted in landmark cases challenging the approval of polluting projects, and advises governments, communities and NGOs on environmental law reform and compliance.
“Climate change is already driving the destruction of Australia’s unique species and ecosystems – yet the Government’s proposed new environment law explicitly refuses to take climate pollution into account. That’s not reform, it’s side-stepping science.
“The Safeguard Mechanism is not a safety net for an inadequate environment law. The Government’s own data shows big polluters that are increasing their emissions are still being rewarded with credits. These proposed EPBC laws risk letting them off the hook again.
“In light of the recent findings of the International Court of Justice, the proposed laws present a significant legal and economic risk for the Australian government, which is positioning itself as a prime target for future climate litigation.
“Australians have been promised nature laws that will protect the places and people we love from harm – instead, these proposed laws risk locking in more fossil fuel projects that drive the very crisis our laws should prevent. A law that ignores climate change is a law that fails to protect our environment, our economy and the national interest.”
Professor Justine Bell-James - School of Law, University of Queensland
Justine Bell-James is an expert on environmental and biodiversity law, with her research focusing on nature restoration, translation of international biodiversity goals to national law, and biodiversity law reform. She is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and she has written extensively on the EPBC Act reform process.
“In its 25-year history the EPBC Act has failed to stem biodiversity decline. This reform process is an opportunity to change the trajectory for Australia’s unique and threatened species and ecosystems. However unless it imposes strong obligations on decision-makers to prioritise the environment, we are likely to continue to see discretionary decisions swing in favour of development and resources”.
BACKGROUND
- The Government’s draft reforms to the EPBC Act will be introduced to Parliament on Thursday 30 October 2025. The reforms exclude any requirement for decision-makers to assess whether projects are compatible with Australia’s climate targets, policies like the Safeguard Mechanism, or international commitments.
- Experts warn that without integrating climate into the EPBC reforms, the laws will fail to protect threatened species, ecosystems, or communities from worsening climate impacts. The failure to integrate climate considerations contradicts Australia’s obligations under international law and undermines the credibility of its climate commitments ahead of COP31.
- Measures to “streamline” approvals risk fast-tracking more polluting coal and gas extraction without consideration of climate impacts. The laws will require only partial emissions disclosure – ignoring Scope 3 emissions, which make up the majority of fossil fuel pollution – and this information wouldn’t be verified or factored into approval decisions. That means polluting projects could get the green light despite clear evidence of their climate harm.
- The Safeguard Mechanism (SGM) is not a substitute for climate consideration in our national environment laws. The SGM regulates some industrial emissions after projects are approved, and currently does not require any facility to actually reduce their emissions – instead allowing polluters to use an unlimited amount of offsets.
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Contact details:
Sean Kennedy, Senior Media Advisor at the Climate Media Centre - 0447 121 378 - [email protected]