Report by the Insurance Council of Australia
Government and industry leadership on climate change
Australian Government leadership on climate change, demonstrated through the setting of strong national emissions reduction targets, has an important role to play in accelerating the decarbonisation of our economy in a fair and equitable way.
Unchecked climate change could shrink Australia’s GDP by 6 per cent by 2070 – a $3.4 trillion loss in GDP in present value terms.1 With $20 trillion expected to be invested in Australia’s economy out to 2050, there is substantial new capital that can be leveraged to accelerate Australia’s transition.2
The ICA is advocating for:
- The Australian Federal Government to set a science-based emissions reduction target for 2035, that is Paris aligned and consistent with IPCC timeframes. The Paris agreement calls for holding the increase in temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
- The government to introduce a comprehensive set of policies that accelerate Australia’s transition to net-zero. We welcome the Climate Change Authority regularly reporting on Australia’s progress against national emissions reduction targets and the handing down of a science-based recommendation for Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target.
- The ACCC to provide guidance to businesses and industry associations on collaboration and cooperation agreements in support of climate action across an industry. This guidance would assist insurers to better understand how competition law applies to such arrangements and specifically how to build and share best practice on emissions reduction across industry in order to achieve climate and sustainability goals.
Click below to read the full report from the Insurance Council of Australia.
