THE NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has released its first Climate Change Policy and Action Plan 2023-26, outlining a set of actions that aim to help NSW reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

NSW EPA Chief Executive Officer Tony Chappel said the plan provides a roadmap for how the state’s environmental regulator will address the causes and consequences of climate change.

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“This plan means for the first time in Australia, there will be a comprehensive approach around emissions reduction pathways,” Mr Chappel said.

“Using our robust framework, we will treat greenhouse gas emissions like any other pollutant that we regulate and by doing so, support the decarbonisation, transformation and growth of the NSW economy.”

Mr Chappel said all parts of NSW are already feeling the very real, costly and devastating impacts of climate change.

“From unprecedented fires through to recent extensive flood events across regional NSW, each of these disasters is a sobering reminder of the escalating consequences of rising greenhouse emissions.

“We must improve our resilience to the impacts of climate change and this plan will see significant work led by the EPA to achieve this.”

As it operationalises climate policy across the economy, the EPA will establish advisory groups for various industry sectors to help inform and co-design actions and subsequent targets.

Mr Chappel said the organisation would not take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to setting targets because no two industries are the same, nor are the climate challenges they face.

“Our focus is on enabling and supporting best practice and building collaborative processes which ensure any actions taken by the EPA are meaningful, feasible and cost-effective,” Mr Chappel said.

“To seriously combat climate change, we cannot do it alone and these groups will provide valuable information on gaps, risks and the opportunities that need to be solved or considered.

“They’ll also help NSW capture the immense opportunities that come with a net-zero economy, such as growth in hydrogen, green steel and metals, green ammonia, clean energy, the circular economy and regenerative agriculture.

“The EPA is committed to supporting industry, business, our regulatory partners and the community in transitioning to a more sustainable and prosperous future.”

For the first time, the Action Plan treats carbon dioxide as a deadly pollutant that must be regulated.

The EPA will establish a more accurate database for carbon pollution that must be considered before granting licences and developments permission to emit carbon.

This is the first time that the Government has adopted a policy to address fossil fuel industry carbon emissions.

Greens MP and spokesperson for the climate, Sue Higginson, said, “This move by the EPA is well overdue and experts have been calling for this recognition of carbon dioxide as a deadly pollutant for decades.

“Communities that have been devastated by the climate induced black summer fires and recent floods have finally managed to drag the Government to recognise the dangers of reckless carbon emissions.”

Ms Higginson said the plan lacks the regulation and compliance powers required to “get the worst carbon polluters brought under control”.

“This will mean that the worst polluters in the state will still only be under voluntary requirements to pursue reductions of their deadly carbon pollution.

“Voluntary reductions are a high-risk strategy when we consider the cost that climate change is already having, let alone the catastrophic future that fossil fuels are creating.

“Coal and gas companies cannot be trusted to voluntarily pursue low emission profits and communities will continue to pay the price through climate induced extreme weather events.”

While heralding the plan as a step in the right direction, Ms Higginson said the NSW Government is still failing to “acknowledge the deadly serious nature of carbon emissions”.

“We need a strong, mandatory system that punishes carbon polluters for the damage that their emissions create,” she said.

“We need caps brought in for carbon emissions and a guarantee that no increases for carbon pollution will be licensed, these emissions are killing people and we need to recognise that.”

Farmers for Climate Action, an organisation with a network of more than 2900 farmers across NSW, has welcomed the release of the plan.

In particular, that the NSW EPA will more deeply consider climate change when it provides approvals and advice on planning matters.

Spokesperson Peter Holding, a third-generation farmer from the south-west slopes of NSW, said considering climate change impacts when planning made perfect sense.

“The farmers who grow Australia’s food are being smashed by repeat flooding, fires and drought being made worse by climate change,” Mr Holding said.

“Insurance mostly does not cover events such as floods and is steadily becoming unaffordable.

“It makes sense to consider this reality when assessing projects which could contribute to making this worse.

“It also makes sense to have the most polluting businesses reduce their emissions.

“The disasters we’re now seeing are unnatural because they are largely man-made.”

Mr Holding said regional Australia was already becoming the biggest beneficiary from emissions reduction.

“Huge renewable energy projects are delivering thousands of jobs to regional Australia, with tens of thousands more in the pipeline.

“Community benefits funds from these projects can breathe new life into towns with upgrades to local facilities.

“We are already seeing battery manufacturing companies setting up in regional areas.

“Farmers will also receive vital income during drought from carbon credits, and this is a huge positive for farmers if the market is properly executed,” he said.

The final EPA Climate Change Policy and Action Plan are available here.